Denny Hamlin pessimistic on NASCAR title hopes after Kyle Larson's Talladega win

Barring two straight wins and a pile of misfortune from Kyle Larson over the final two races of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, there's little hope for Denny Hamlin to win the championship.

After Larson's win and 71-point day at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, Hamlin, who finished eighth in the YellaWood 500, is now 73 points back of Larson going into Martinsville. Should his deficit be 76 points or more after Martinsville, he will be unable to win the title at Homestead.

"Truthfully, they've [the 5 team] done a lot of things right, a lot of things have really gone right, and we've not done that," Hamlin said on the USA Sports post-race show. "We've got a big 'ol gap. I think as long as he can keep his four tires on it the next two weeks, he'll be champion again."

Hamlin expanded on his championship outlook in a post-race scrum with reporters.

Top 10 at Talladega wasn't enough to catch Kyle Larson

"If you ask me to start the day would I take an eighth, I mean, probably," Hamlin said, per Matt Weaver. "Obviously, the 5's on a massive run at the right time of the year. It's disappointing, but also, our day could've been a s--- ton worse. We didn't get stage points. We tried."