Denny Hamlin Calls Out Kyle Larson’s ‘Gifted Title’ as NASCAR Playoff Format Faces Meltdown

Remember when Matt Kenseth won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2003? A moment we seldom look back on as an iconic triumph, but the implications it has had on the sport have been arguably more drastic than anything ever before. Kenseth’s 1 win championship run led to the sport ditching the old faithful ‘Winston Cup’ format and switching to the Chase to add more final day drama. And to their credit, the idea was, for the most part, a success. 

With 26 races to seed themselves into the 10-race ‘Chase’ for the championship, drivers fought tooth and nail over those last 10 races to produce some thrilling finales like Homestead 2011 with Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, a tiebreaker championship that went to Stewart. However, after 2014, NASCAR reverted to the current ‘win and you’re in’ playoff format, and there’s no one who laments this format more than Denny Hamlin. 

Denny Hamlin goes on an unfiltered rant

When the playoff format’s shortcomings are brought up, most people label Joey Logano’s 2024 championship as ‘undeserving’ and an example of a driver who was not the best throughout the season, with an average finish of 17.1. However, wasn’t the point of the ‘one race, winner takes all’ finale to crown the best driver on the final day of the season? This might sound quite comical considering most motorsports reward season-long consistency, like F1 and IndyCar, but NASCAR does it differently. However, in 2021, NASCAR’s playoff format bit itself in the foot, and Denny Hamlin threw it into the spotlight while bashing NASCAR, NBC, and more.

On his Actions Detrimental podcast, after winning the Brickyard 400 as co-owner of 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin was irate and blunt after playoff discussions made the rounds again. Hamlin spoke on behalf of the NASCAR driver playoff committee, saying, “I am on it (playoff committee). I will say, most of the room, if not all of the room, general opinion is that the one race thing needs to go. When you ask, ‘What do you think of the current format?’ No one ever tries to throw any mud on anyone who has won a championship under this format. You must create a larger sample size to crown your champion because in one race, anything can happen.” This growing sentiment of change being ignored led to Hamlin bringing up an instance where one driver got lucky on the final race of the season, as he had to endure yet another missed opportunity.

Kyle Larson‘s year in 2021 was special, no question. 10 wins, 4 of them in the playoffs, and 20 top-5 finishes. However, when it mattered most, and the lights shone brightest, Larson needed a stroke of luck to propel him to glory. Hamlin continued, pointing out how Larson’s championship aspirations flipped after one lucky caution. “Everything I worked for can be taken away by someone else who has nothing to do with this championship battle… I would have loved if David Starr didn’t hit the wall at the end of Phoenix a few years ago. But that’s what happens in races. It affected my chances of winning a championship. But Kyle Larson loved him. He went from the worst car on that day to winning a championship a few hours later because of that one caution moment. We crowned a champion who was gonna be fourth. That’s just not the right way.” 

In the 2021 Championship race at Phoenix Raceway, the Toyotas of Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin were leading the race with 30 laps to go. They controlled the pace and were looking set for a fight till the end. However, after part-time entry, David Starr hit the wall and brought out the caution. Larson’s pit cycle propelled him from 4th to first, while Hamlin beat Truex off pit road but remained 2nd. Without that fateful caution, Denny Hamlin could have had his first, or Truex Jr. could have had his second. Instead, it was 4th-place Kyle Larson who profited, and this is where the problems start for Denny.

The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been vehemently against this playoff format, and at the start of 2025, NASCAR had promised to make some tweaks for 2026. However, after broadcaster NBC stepped in to cover the championship races, they’ve been supporting the playoff format, as it promotes high drama while not accounting for variables out of the driver’s control that can ruin a season. And Hamlin didn’t shy away from aiming at NBC, too.

Denny Hamlin continued, “Do I love that NBC has the biggest voice in what our championship format is? Absolutely not. NASCAR came back to us and said, ‘We need to have a long discussion with them; they’re the ones who should weigh in on this. We can’t meet with you guys till we meet with [NBC].’ There’s pressure to put the schedule out, but we don’t even have a format yet. Guys, we started this 9 months ago, I don’t think it’s that hard, truthfully.”

NASCAR Insider Jeff Gluck also spoke about this on the Teardown podcast after the race on Sunday, highlighting, “NBC has signed up for over $1 billion a year… they want playoffs… something close to what is happening now.” If broadcasters are deciding the future of the sport’s competitive landscape, is it going in the right direction? This led to Hamlin revealing a shocking reality of his future with Joe Gibbs Racing and NASCAR.

Denny Hamlin blames the playoffs for his NASCAR exit

Denny Hamlin has come close to a championship on numerous occasions. He has four championship 4 appearances, and before the format was introduced, Hamlin finished 3rd on the final race of the season in his rookie year, and if the modern-day playoff format was applicable then, Denny would have technically taken home a championship as a rookie over Jimmie Johnson!

Now, the JGR veteran is still without that elusive crown, and at 44 years old, he has admittedly signed what is potentially his last contract for Joe Gibbs Racing. However, on his podcast, he admitted that if the playoff format were different, he would not have thought of leaving so soon. Hamlin added, “As a person that now only has a couple of years left, I told Jeff Gluck, ‘If they get a legit format down, I might go longer.’ I feel like my chances would be better on a more typical sample size. The one race, my chances are 25%. You go to 36 races, I think my chances are better than that. There’s no legitimizing that final 4. Look at the numbers. These are the best 4.”

Hamlin brings up how the current top-4 in the championship standings are indicative of the best drivers the sport has to offer, with Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson, and himself. Two of the 4 have 1 win and unreal consistency (Byron and Elliott), while Larson and Hamlin have 3+ wins but duds in between. The perfect mix that any motorsports could ask for. Yet, NASCAR is choosing to dilute this further with the playoffs is what upsets the veteran. Truth be told, you won’t find one ‘correct’ answer to the playoff format conundrum, but Denny Hamlin’s thoughts, as a veteran of the sport who has seen it all, certainly put things into perspective.

What do you think the championship format should be? Let us know in the comments!