“You don’t know what it’s like to dominate a season,” said Denny Hamlin. To say that the veteran driver is frustrated would be an understatement, and it seems he has reached a breaking point. In the 2025 season, he 44-year-old secured six wins and showed relentless consistency, resulting in the NASCAR fandom buzzing about his first title. But despite his best efforts, and even after dominating the finale at Phoenix, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran fell short. And now, the Virginia-native isn’t mincing his words.

As format tweaks loom for 2026, Hamlin dismisses the idea of the 36-race chase coming back, and in a recent talk, he also shared his thoughts about different people wanting different formats. So let’s dive deep into what he really thinks about crowning champs, and who are these ‘mediocre people’?

Denny Hamlin slams the playoff system

Denny Hamlin didn’t hold back on the Actions Detrimental podcast, firing shots at NASCAR’s playoff setup right after his gut-wrenching Phoenix defeat. He went on to say, “Mediocre people want the small sample size possible. I think the greats, they wanted to give a bigger sample size.” Here, “mediocre” means those drivers who are okay with the playoffs’ randomness because they know they lack the skills to compete with veterans like Hamlin, Larson, or Blaney in the long run. Hamlin’s callout is born from frustration, and that’s why he advocates for formats that honor grinders over gamblers.

“For people like myself, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick. I think we’re all four on bigger sample sides. I think if I didn’t list your name, of course you love the one-race playoff,” he said, “Because it rewards mediocrity for the bulk of the season. And it allows you to just, you’ve never had one ripped out of your hands.”

This dig targets drivers who’ve grabbed titles without the full-season consistency and grind and thrive on others’ mistakes and flukes. These drivers never really out-skilled any skillful driver to grab a win; they just kind of steal it when other drivers make a mistake or an unlucky mishap takes place.

Hamlin also dismissed the prospect of a season-long format becoming a possibility for 2026. He went on to say, “They could say 36 races, which they’re not. Everyone just get over it. You’re gonna get playoffs.” While some might say it’s a cynical outlook, understandable for a driver who had a championship robbed with just seconds to go, others might feel the veteran driver is just being realistic.  As things stand, there is no official stance by NASCAR about changes to the playoff format.

And if there’s bitterness in his tone, there’s an underlying reason to it. He won six races, dominated the regular season, yet the one-race finale flipped everything in overtime. Hamlin sees it as a flaw that lets flukes steal glory from steady performers like him, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Elliott.

Even Kyle Larson, the fresh champ, gets the sympathy wave toward Hamlin’s story. Fans flooded socials with support for Hamlin’s near-miss, overshadowing Larson’s title win. On the Rubbin’ is Racing podcast, Larson shrugged it off: “No, no, I honestly, I have not felt that way one bit at all, because I feel that what we all feel for Denny also.”

That’s a graceful take from Kyle Larson. He experienced a hard, inconsistent phase in mid-2025 after the Indy-Charlotte double but rallied with crew tweaks, scoring maximum playoff points. Larson’s nod validates Hamlin’s elite status, as both topped 1,000 laps led.

Yet Hamlin’s take highlights how playoffs amplify heartbreak for the consistent. That Phoenix sting, though, hit Hamlin hardest in the final turns.

The moment Hamlin knew his title dreams were shattered at Phoenix

Denny Hamlin’s pole start at Phoenix set up a masterclass, leading 208 of 319 laps in his No. 11 Toyota. The Championship 4 battle raged, with Hamlin holding a three-second edge entering the white-flag lap. But Byron’s shredded tire in Turn 3 sparked a caution, overtime, and pit frenzy. And Hamlin’s crew’s decision to go for a four-tire change dropped him to 10th in the final restart, which was five positions behind Kyle Larson.

The gut punch landed as cars fanned out. “I thought he was the third car on the outside of me,” Hamlin recalled on his podcast. “So when I go into Turn 3, and I clear whoever those cars are, I thought that was it. I thought I was past him at that point.” He’d cleared what he believed was the field, victory in sight after a season fueled by his terminally ill dad’s “last chance” plea. But spotting Larson’s No. 5 ahead crushed it, flipping the emotion in seconds.

“It’s not till we crossed the white and we went to the dogleg and the cars fanned out where you could see them all,” he added. “And I saw the #5 with three-quarters of a mile to go, and I knew at that point, ‘Oh my God. It’s over.’ At that point, I knew that he had won (and) we had lost.”

Post-race, Hamlin could not control his pain, which was coming out through tears, but still congratulated Larson, a friend since their early rivalries. His dad’s words eased the pain: “You had it. You did it. You just don’t have the trophy,” but the moment tested a driver’s breaking point who’s rebuilt his resilience after wrecks and failures.