Denny Hamlin can pretty much kick his feet up for the rest of the Round of 8. Hamlin is off the hook when it comes to securing a spot in the Championship 4. With his masterful 60th career win at Las Vegas last weekend, Hamlin is at an advantage while other drivers feel the heat of the pressure to fill in the remaining 3 spots.  And amid that pressure lay his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.

Christopher Bell enters Talladega with a 20-point cushion above the cut line, right ahead of teammate Chase Briscoe, who is 15 points above the cut line. In order for the remaining 2 JGR drivers to advance to the Championship 4, the responsibility of helping them out squarely falls on Hamlin. And the 44-year-old aims to be the perfect teammate.

Denny Hamlin raises the green flag on helping out his teammates at Talladega

Speaking in a media availability ahead of the Talladega race, Denny Hamlin is more than ready to be a team player.  But first, Hamlin sounded off on his position. He said, ” I don’t think it’s super crucial. I think I’m gonna have to beat everyone to win the championship of Phoenix, so bring them all.”

If anything, Joe Gibbs Racing knows how to dominate. Just take the Round of 16 sweep as an example. All three JGR drivers clinched a victory each in the opening elimination rounds, hence allowing them to advance to the next. All that helped them reach this far. And at Las Vegas, all three JGR drivers racked up a top 5 finish—with Hamlin taking his career milestone 60th win, followed by Chase Briscoe and  Christopher Bell in 4th and 3rd place, respectively.

When asked about pushing his teammates to the championship finale at Phoenix, without any hesitation, he said, “So be it. I mean, you know, I think that if anything, I’d rather push a teammate to a victory and then know that I’m racing them straight up at Phoenix with the same exact stuff. To me, that would actually be more gratifying because I know that, you know, there’s no mechanical advantage, mine versus theirs.”

Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell both delivered strong performances at Las Vegas. Briscoe started the race from the second position and led 57 laps, showcasing his strength early on. However, a strategic gamble by his team to change only the right-side tires during a late bus stop elevated him to the lead with 28 laps remaining.

Despite his efforts, the No. 19 driver struggled with a loose car in the final laps, particularly in Turns 3 and 4, causing him to lose positions to Hamlin, Larson, and Bell. He ultimately finished fourth, marking his 14th top-five finish of the season. Christopher Bell, on the other hand, started from third place, maintaining a consistent pace throughout the race. He worked his way into the top three, finishing third and securing valuable points for the playoffs. However, Talladega looks a bit different.

With Michael McDowell snagging the pole position for the YellaWood 500, Hamlin managed to grab a disappointing 17th place, buried in the mid-pack. However, Chase Briscoe practically flew through the qualifying, grabbing a second-place start for Sunday’s race, and Christopher Bell mustered up the speed and positioned himself in 7th place.

Hamlin remains the only JGR driver to not make it in the top 10, but with his Vegas triumph, the No. 11 driver need not worry about the result of the races at Talladega or Martinsville, since his win earned him a spot at the finale. However, as he looked poised to help out his fellow teammates, Christopher Bell has big hopes for Hamlin.

Christopher Bell sounds off on Hamlin’s approach in helping JGR drivers

Christopher Bell has high hopes for Denny Hamlin to help his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates win Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, since his own Championship 4 berth is already secured. Bell’s Dega stats look a bit worrying. He has secured only one top five and three top 10 and 11 starts at the 2.66-mile track, and two of his last three races ended in the wall.

Bell will have to balance stage points and survival more carefully than Denny Hamlin. During a media session ahead of the Talladega race, he also questioned the No. 11 Toyota driver’s approach towards helping his teammates.

He said, “Denny being locked in, the outcome of the race doesn’t matter for him, we’d like for him to push the 19 [Chase Briscoe] or the 20, he’s got everything to lose and nothing to gain. I don’t know how he’ll race the event though.” 

He also said that he would not feel secure about his position in the playoffs until he was leading in points after the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville. Bell added that any winner below the cut line could dramatically alter the standings.