“This is probably his best chance he’s ever had to have a chance at the championship.” Richard Petty said these words last month after a tear-jerker Cup Series race. Denny Hamlin won his 60th career trophy at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a proud moment for his ailing father and a big milestone in his two-decade career. So fans and peers alike, including the legendary 200-time Cup race winner Petty, were rooting for Hamlin with all their hearts at Phoenix Raceway.

However, that final boss seemed impossible to defeat. Despite Denny Hamlin’s clear domination of the NASCAR Cup Series championship race, Lady Luck still got in his way. Some fans pointed to a specific pit road decision as the cause, but Richard Petty does not accept that.

Richard Petty green-lights last-lap call

For Denny Hamlin, the 2025 Cup Series championship came down to the lap 309 caution in Phoenix. After William Byron crashed out, the tire strategies differed on the restart. Hamlin took four tires, and Richard Petty defended that call: “The Cup people spend that much money to run a race, and then they don’t let them have it for just a few tires? I mean, this guy spent 15 or 20 million dollars to put the car on the racetrack. He’s handicapped because he’s not got enough tires. He made the right decision. Traffic just didn’t allow him to take advantage of the 4 tires.” 

Kyle Larson chose to take two tires and eventually ended up speeding up ahead. That’s what led fans to believe that Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gayle, may have messed up with the four-tire call. But as Richard Petty defended, even Gayle explained why he thought it was the right call. “For a second, I could think, ‘Oh, well, if I took two tires,’ I don’t know if that would have worked. The No. 5 was doing it; this was their only shot. Really, it was gonna dictate on just how many other cars stayed and fit in between you. I think four tires were the right call, it just didn’t get clear on the bottom.”

Kyle Petty, Richard Petty’s son, suggested that Denny Hamlin lost it due to the traffic. Even Kyle Larson may not have benefited from two tires if not for his position. Petty said, “Denny got pinned in on the bottom, and the cars were coming back to Denny as Larson’s lane was moving forward. And that was the separation. That was the race right there for me.”

Above and beyond the issue of the tires, what the Phoenix Raceway mishap highlights is the format. The current one-race format of the NASCAR Cup Series championship ultimately did not allow Denny Hamlin to win. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran has been very vocal about changing it. But it took him a heartbreak to get an army of fans by his side. Richard Petty had deemed Hamlin the champion long before. And now, highlighted the need for change: “There’s gonna have to be a change to the way they get a championship.”

However, Hamlin still chose to salute the rival who defeated him.

Shielding the 2025 champion

Remember the 2024 playoffs? Joey Logano set off a storm of controversy after he miraculously got into the Round of 8. Then the Team Penske driver fetched clutch victories in Atlanta and Las Vegas, and put the cherry on top with a Phoenix victory. And Logano fetched the title with the worst average finish of 17.1 – sparking immense backlash from fans. Kyle Larson’s championship in 2025 may also be viewed in a similar light. The Hendrick Motorsports star won three victories, half of Denny Hamlin’s trophies this season.

However, Denny Hamlin, even while nursing his heartbreak, chose to celebrate his friend’s victory at the NASCAR Awards event. He even shielded Kyle Larson from fans’ criticism. “I hate for him that kind of the attention is shifted a little bit away from his championship… There shouldn’t be one person who questions the deservingness of his championship. He’s a great friend. If it couldn’t be me, I’m glad it’s him.” Hamlin added, “I think we’re all so close. We play the same opposition every week, so we get to know each other personally, and that plays into that factor of feeling empathy for your competitor.”

Denny Hamlin is looking to move forward from the pain of this year without ill will. Nevertheless, he stays determined to come back and try again. It looks like the majority of the NASCAR fanbase is rooting for him, including ‘The King’ himself.