Kurt Busch’s win at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway carries him through to the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. However, he was not expected to be the first and only driver so far to book his place in the semi-final round.

He outdid the likes of Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, who sit handsomely above the rest of the field on points.

Hamlin won a stage at Las Vegas and finished third as well. He has a massive 58-point lead over the final cutoff spot and is just three points short of Harvick in the Playoffs.

Not to forget, after Harvick’s nine wins, Hamlin’s six wins are the highest this season. Despite all these successes and placing strongly in the standings, Denny Hamlin is not satisfied, and we’re not surprised!

A 58-point lead does nothing to take away the disappointment of returning without a win.

What Denny Hamlin expects from himself

“If you would have asked me before the day I would have definitely been happy about it. But I just hate missing out on victories, to be honest. We’re so much better than the six victories that we’ve got. It’s just disturbing,” Harvick said after Sunday’s race.

“I’ve never been this fast in so many races and just not finishing it like I feel like we should,” he added.

Since winning his sixth race at Dover, Harvick has finished outside the Top-10 on four occasions. The first round of the Playoffs saw him finish no higher than 12th. At Las Vegas, though, he looked very good for a win until that late caution.

Hamlin knows where he needs to excel

Despite the winless run, the No.11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver knows what he needs to do. That is, to keep moving ahead and make the Championship 4 race, which is all that matters.

“If we’re up front, that’s what counts, and that’s what’s going to get you to Phoenix is to keep getting stage wins and keep battling for race wins. And you’ll get yourself to Phoenix and hopefully, you’ll get a championship out of it,” Hamlin said.

“That’s what we’re all here for, and that’s what I’m trying to do,” he added.

Hamlin also rubbished doubts that the deal with Michael Jordan has in no way deterred him from his goal. Hamlin and the rest of the field now move to the tough Talladega Superspeedway for a crucial race.