64 wins, a 2026 regular-season championship, three Daytona 500 victories, and countless memorable moments define Denny Hamlin’s storied 22-year career as a NASCAR Cup Series driver. However, there’s still one major achievement missing from his resume: a Cup Series championship.

After coming agonizingly close in recent years, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran knows what it takes to compete at the highest level. And now, it seems like Hamlin has identified the missing piece in his title pursuit, believing that simply continuing his recent run of form could finally deliver the championship he has chased for so long.

“We perform like we’ve performed for the last 24 months. It started about a year ago around this time, I mean, the playoffs last year, we went on a run and we won some really key races. We performed extremely good when it really did matter but then honestly the circumstances didn’t work out and obviously you got different things that happened. But just really since then, we continued again this year and then it was a great summer. So I think as long as we just continue to be ourselves, we win it. I’m confident of that,” Denny Hamlin said on the Happy Hour podcast when asked what it would take to become a NASCAR Cup Series champion.

Hamlin believes the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team already has the speed and consistency required to win the title. His results over the past two seasons support that confidence. At the same time, his 2025 championship heartbreak also shows how quickly a promising campaign can unravel.

Hamlin recorded six Cup Series victories in 2025, beginning with a dominant performance at Martinsville Speedway in March. He led 274 laps to secure his first win of the season and his first victory at the short track since 2015. He added another triumph at Michigan International Speedway in June, taking the lead from William Byron with four laps remaining.

His summer success continued at Dover Motor Speedway in July, where he survived rain, red flags and double overtime to claim his fourth victory of the campaign. Those wins established Hamlin as a serious championship contender, but his strongest stretch came when the playoffs arrived.

Hamlin won the playoff race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in September, leading 75 laps and beating teammate Chase Briscoe by 1.62 seconds. He then opened the Round of 8 with another victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. That win was particularly significant because it marked his 60th career Cup Series triumph and secured his first Championship 4 appearance since 2021. By the time he reached the season finale, Hamlin had demonstrated that he could deliver under postseason pressure.

At Phoenix Raceway, Hamlin appeared to be on course to complete the job. Starting from the pole, he led 208 laps and controlled much of the Championship 4 race. However, a late caution following William Byron’s crash forced teams to make a crucial pit-stop decision. Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gayle, opted for four fresh tires, while Kyle Larson’s team took only two. Larson’s strategy gave him better track position for the restart, while Hamlin dropped deeper into the field.

Hamlin could not recover enough positions in the overtime finish and ended the race sixth, watching Larson claim his second Cup championship. After dominating for much of the afternoon, Hamlin was left wondering what might have been. The result reinforced his belief that he had the pace to win the title, even if the final circumstances did not go his way.

Hamlin carried that momentum into 2026, delivering another strong regular season. He won four races, including a remarkable three-race streak at Nashville, Michigan and Pocono. The Pocono victory was his 64th in the Cup Series and the first time he had won three consecutive races in his full-time career. He also secured the No. 1 seed in the regular season, giving himself a strong points position heading into the Chase.

However, the postseason has not unfolded as Hamlin would have hoped. He finished 18th at Darlington after contact damaged his car, followed by ninth at Gateway, eighth at Bristol and third at Kansas. Las Vegas brought another setback when he spun while running near the front, damaged his splitter and later encountered a fuel-pressure issue. He finished 16th, while Kyle Larson’s runner-up result helped him build a 40-point championship lead.

Hamlin’s path to the title is becoming more difficult. However, his message remains clear: he does not believe the team needs a complete overhaul. It needs to rediscover the form that produced six wins in 2025 and four more during the 2026 regular season. With the championship still within reach, Hamlin is counting on the No. 11 team to perform at its best when the stakes are highest.