Denny Hamlin‘s mother moved into her new house this week, months after a fire claimed his father. It happened just weeks after missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to win the Cup Series championship. This was a very difficult time for Hamlin, as he was already entangled in legal issues with his Cup team, 23XI Racing, and the house fire had done irreparable damage. But months later, after getting a strong grip on his racing and sending a million-dollar aid to his mother, Hamlin finally seems to be settling down.

“Things are going good for once. Like, you know, nothing’s crazy going on and, you know, mom’s moved into her new house this week, so things are good there and, just there’s a lot of positive juju going on,” Denny Hamlin told the media at Pocono Raceway earlier.

Hamlin juggled multiple crises simultaneously. Apart from the $700,000 worth of damages he faced, his father’s passing was an unimaginable loss for the entire family. “What made it real was seeing my dad. I saw him lying there after he had passed, I just knew that it was real in that moment,” he had recalled a few months ago.

Even though there were quite a few doubts regarding Denny Hamlin’s future in the sport, having suffered such personal tragedy right after losing out on the championship by the smallest of margins, he came back stronger than ever. He has so far won three races this season, and the All-Star Race as well, taking home the $1 million prize. But he knew what he was going to do with that prize money, “I’ll give it to mama,” he said shortly after.

Now that the situation is improving for him, both personally and professionally, now more stable than ever, Hamlin is on a roll. “It’s all just compounding and, and it’s just raising my confidence each time I go to the race track,” he added, speaking to the media at Pocono.

Denny Hamlin has already had a great season so far. He sits in second place in the points table, and as expected, the Chase format is playing well to his advantage, considering the amazing consistency he manages to pull off. He won the last two races at Nashville and Michigan, and heading into Pocono, he already seems to be on the stronger side.

Denny Hamlin is aiming to chase down the top spot in the table

Pocono Raceway is one of Hamlin’s strongest tracks currently. Ever since 2023, he has averaged a 1.7-place finish on the track, with a race win in ’23, followed by two consecutive runner-up finishes in the past two years. And this year, he has already started the weekend out strong, claiming the pole position.

He managed to run around the 2.5-mile track within 51.948 seconds, averaging a speed of 173.250 to clinch the pole position. Considering the raw pace that Toyota has been showing at the front of the field this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him dominate right from the start of the race.

As for his competition, Tyler Reddick, who sits at the top of the table with five early race wins this season, isn’t in a strong position. He will be starting down in 16 place, and the ‘Tricky Triangle’ hasn’t always been his best-performing track. He has averaged a 13.3-place finish in the past three years, and if this trend were to continue, ignoring the performance he is pulling this season, he might not be looking at a massive points advantage over Hamlin.

Meanwhile, with his race win at Michigan, Denny Hamlin had already managed to shrink down the gap between him and Reddick to just 51 points. Hamlin could close the gap with a single win if Reddick falters, unlikely but possible.

It is quite apparent that Hamlin is currently having quite a strong run on the track, and as he mentioned, this is fueled by the positivity around him in his personal life. This could be Hamlin’s year to finally win the Cup Series championship, considering the Chase format and the advantage he has over his competition.