The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs are in a hot spot right now. Presently, four drivers are below the cutline – Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Austin Cindric. They contested their chances fiercely at Kansas Speedway’s Hollywood Casino 400, but that did not work out. Now, they have one last chance to make it to the Round of 8, and that chance is at a venue disliked by Denny Hamlin.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is safely riding above the cutline with 27 points. Yet Denny Hamlin is also the team owner of 23XI Racing, and both of his drivers are below the cutline. Now he has more reasons to worry heading into the Charlotte Roval, a track he assigned little value to recently.

Denny Hamlin continues his diatribe

Well, the Charlotte Roval race may present problems for drivers below the cutline. A few days ago, Steve Letarte summed up the risks of drivers needing to crack the Round of 8. If they failed to gather sufficient points at Kansas, like Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, they may face a “kiss of death” at the Roval. That is because the last lap of the 17-turn road course can be tricky, a place where drivers are vulnerable to losing points. And Denny Hamlin agreed with Letarte, speaking in a pre-race media briefing at Kansas Speedway. “It’s really hard to bring an example where the Roval would be better unless you throw in a green white checkered,” he said.

Back in October 2024, Denny Hamlin and other drivers had lashed out at the Charlotte Roval’s new tweaks. The changes involved a “corkscrew” of chicanes, coupled with several repaved sections, particularly around turns 6-7, and the final corners. What is more, Hamlin also agreed with Brad Keselowski this year that North Wilkesboro should replace Roval’s points-paying race. And the JGR veteran expanded on his opinion now: “I truthfully believe that… the only reason (the Roval) is staying is because NASCAR wants to keep a road course in the playoffs.” Then Hamlin dropped his 5-word verdict about the Roval’s value, saying it is there “just as a competitive balance.” He continued, “Other than that, I can’t really see where it has a place.”

Denny Hamlin extended his diatribe about the Charlotte Roval, the only road course in the NASCAR playoffs. He compared it to Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 2.25-mile asphalt oval, where we witnessed a thrilling race this year. Watching William Byron’s 283-lap dominance enthralled even Hamlin. Eventually, Ross Chastain won the race. Hamlin reflected, “Truthfully, when we had the Coke 600, it was just a great battle. I remember up front with us, the 1 and the 24, nobody could hold the lead. It just was wildly entertaining from my seat. The oval, you know, in this car seemed to really work well together.” 

Clearly, there is no love lost between Denny Hamlin and the Charlotte Roval. While he candidly spoke out about this broken bond, he also spoke candidly about another feeble bond in his team – to try and revive it.

Efforts to make amends for the tense situation

Drivers frequently enter heated conflicts with rivals in NASCAR. When it involves drivers from opposing teams, the story is sensational and exciting. However, when it involves racers on the same team, then things are cold and embarrassing. In fact, the situation is more tense as team meetings attain a unique flavor. That is what JGR is currently facing after the fireworks in New Hampshire. Ty Gibbs, the only non-playoff contender in JGR, refused to give room to his teammates on lap 110. After a few warning bumps, Denny Hamlin got aggressive and spun out the No. 54. The three-time New Hampshire winner could not capitalize on it, however.

An online exchange of barbs ensued between Hamlin and Gibbs, both pointing out each other’s faults. However, Denny Hamlin eventually owned up to being too aggressive at the Magic Mile. Ahead of the Kansas race, he admitted, “Absolutely. I definitely got hot under the collar, and it went too far on my end. There were things I wish I could have done a little bit differently.” Yet neither Hamlin nor Gibbs would divulge details of their team meeting. All that the JGR veteran said was, “I think [we] are in a good place. The [conversations] were all productive. The guts of that are going to be confidential.”

Denny Hamlin is trying to quietly grapple with the NASCAR playoffs. His efforts involve resolving team struggles and suggesting track changes – let’s wait and see how his fortunes play out.