NASCAR: Denny Hamlin’s own win could cost him a championship

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin's own win could cost him a championship

As a devoted NASCAR fan with years of experience under my belt, I can’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Denny Hamlin. Winning at Bristol Motor Speedway is no small feat, but it seems that victory came at a steep price. The self-reported infraction and subsequent penalties have had lingering effects on his playoff chances, pushing him down the ranks and costing him valuable points.

Approximately five months following the NASCAR Cup Series race held at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, Toyota admitted to a violation linked to Denny Hamlin’s victory at the venue, which took place last month.

According to the NASCAR Rule Book, Hamlin’s team No. 11 affiliated with Joe Gibbs Racing allegedly broke rules under Sections 14.7.1.E&F and 14.7.1.1.B&E. The race-winning engine from Bristol was inadvertently rebuilt by the manufacturer before NASCAR had a chance to disassemble it for inspection, resulting in severe penalties.

Hamlin had ten playoff points subtracted from his total, leaving him with eleven for the regular season. He earned these twenty-one points by winning three races (five points per win) and six stages (one point per stage). Additionally, he lost seventy-five regular season points, causing him to drop from fourth to seventh place in the final standings of the regular season.

Extra playoff points are given out to those racers who rank among the top 10 during the regular season, meaning that Hamlin actually forfeited 13 playoff points, not merely 10.

Hamlin points penalty has lingering effects

Through his seventh-place finish during the regular season, he earned four extra playoff points. Had he maintained his fourth-place position, he would have had seven more. Due to a penalty, he started the playoffs with 15 points instead of the potential 28.

Playoff points are added to each playoff driver’s point total ahead of each round of the four-round, 10-race postseason (excluding the Championship 4), provided they are still championship eligible. For example, the 16 playoff drivers all had their point totals reset to 2,000 ahead of the round of 16. With 15 playoff points, Hamlin opened up the round with 2,015 points.

Besides Hamlin losing 13 playoff points, it also meant that three other drivers picked up a point each due to Hamlin’s drop in the regular season point rankings.

Due to Denny Hamlin’s penalty, teammates Christopher Bell, William Byron from Hendrick Motorsports, and Ryan Blaney from Team Penske all moved up one position in the standings, earning an additional playoff point.

If Hamlin hadn’t triumphed at Bristol, he wouldn’t have earned the initial five playoff points. Regardless, his victory turned out to be quite costly as it resulted in a deduction of 13 playoff points, leaving him with a total reduction of eight.

If Hamlin falls short of moving forward from a particular stage due to being less than eight points behind another racer (or less than nine points behind Bell, Byron, or Blaney), his victory at Bristol in March may have been the deciding factor for not making that advancement.

Indirectly, securing a victory in March might potentially jeopardize his chance of claiming his first title.

This coming Sunday, September 15, Watkins Glen International will stage race number two out of three for the opening round of the playoffs. Known as The Go Bowling at The Glen, this exciting event will be aired live on USA Network, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET. Denny Hamlin is currently holding onto a two-point lead over the cut line for the round of 12. Don’t miss out on all the thrilling action – sign up for a free trial of FuboTV today!

2024-09-11 15:02