Denny Hamlin has already achieved a lot over the course of his NASCAR career. With over 40 race wins and 7 of those coming this season, he is one of the most established drivers. However, he still chases that elusive NASCAR Cup Series championship.

It would seem that the pressure is high on Hamlin as he goes into Sunday’s championship race at the Phoenix Raceway. However, Hamlin already declared his season as successful and admitted that he has achieved his goals for the season.

“Yeah, we’ve achieved our goal for the year. Our goal was to get to the Final 4,” Hamlin said after qualifying for the season finale.

The Joe Gibbs Racing star believes that the final race is like a title shoot-out. The driver with the faster car on the day and with a bit of luck will take all the glory. That is why he set his goals upon his performances throughout the season, and not whether he takes home the title.

“After that, it’s all about circumstances. You have to have a fast car and you have to have things fall your way if you want to be a champion,” Hamlin added.

Denny Hamlin agrees with Kevin Harvick

A bad couple of races knocked out the most successful driver this season, Kevin Harvick, who had 9 wins. Harvick also echoed the same sentiment about his consistency all year. While he is disappointed, he is not too bothered about the fact that just 1 or 2 races kept him out of the battle for the title.

Hamlin agreed with Harvick’s thoughts and said that he is happy to reach the final 4 for the second straight season.

“Like I say, I agree with Kevin, it’s a little different than it used to be. Now it just comes down to one race. We’ve achieved our goal. Two years in a row now making the Final 4. Hopefully, we can finish this thing off,” Hamlin added.

Thoughts on the Championship race

At the same time, Hamlin knows that winning the title would make things a lot sweeter. He spoke about the differences from last year, heading into Phoenix.

“We obviously had a great Phoenix last year. Things were a lot different. You had a different aerodynamic package. Certainly, I feel like when I go there I’m going to roll off and hopefully have a race winner,” Hamlin concluded.

While he is not too reliant on Phoenix to define his season, Hamlin knows how important a title win would be. As he has an added responsibility next year with team ownership, it would be great for him to enter a big year with a title to his name.

READ MORE– “Can’t Ignore the First Eight Innings” – Denny Hamlin Gives His Views on Kevin Harvick’s Elimination and the Playoff System