Denny Hamlin questions NASCAR’s first 26 races after title loss

NXTbets Pro | Published On: November 12, 2026

Hamlin’s championship loss

Denny Hamlin said his 2026 championship loss to Kyle Larson made him question whether the first 26 races mattered as much as the final stretch, and the season played out in a way that backed up that doubt. Hamlin entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed after winning four regular-season races and taking the regular-season title, but he still finished third in the standings. He ended 56 points behind Larson and seven points behind Christopher Bell. Larson won his third Cup Series title after winning two of the first four playoff races, a reminder of how quickly the momentum shifted once the postseason began. Hamlin said the format makes peaking late more important than building an early lead, and his own run showed how little margin he had once the title fight moved into the playoff rounds.

Darlington, Las Vegas and Phoenix

Hamlin pointed to three races, Darlington, Las Vegas and Phoenix, as the stretch that cost him the championship. At Darlington, a pit-stop issue dropped him to 18th, and he said the contact there was not his fault. At Las Vegas, he took responsibility for the spin that hurt his day. At Phoenix Raceway, he led 208 laps and looked in control for long stretches, but a late tire-related shuffle on a restart left him sixth. Those swings defined a title bid that had both speed and frustration. Hamlin also said Martinsville went wrong because of a strategy mistake and a spin involving Christopher Bell and Joey Logano. At Homestead-Miami, he won Stage 2, led 87 laps and finished sixth, another strong run that still did not deliver the result he needed. The pattern was clear across the playoff stretch. Hamlin had enough pace to lead and enough position to contend, but the key moments turned on pit road, strategy, contact and restarts. That combination left him looking back at several races as missed chances rather than stepping stones.

Harvick, pressure and 2027

Kevin Harvick said Hamlin may have put unnecessary pressure on himself before the championship race and embraced the pre-race hype and “bandwagon” messaging around his title bid. Harvick said he would have handled the promotion differently. He also said he felt bad for Hamlin because of the pressure from his career timeline, his father’s health and the strength of the No. 11 car. Harvick did not directly blame Hamlin’s comments for the loss. Hamlin’s own postmortem went deeper than one race or one headline. He cited burnout, a winter shoulder injury and age-related wear as factors that affected him during the season. That reflection fits with his view of the playoff system, where one bad break can overshadow months of good work and where the final stretch carries more weight than the opening months. It also adds context to what comes next. Hamlin expects 2027 to be his final full Cup Series season, which gives the next run at a title extra significance. For now, he is left with a season that started with the No. 1 seed, carried the weight of four regular-season wins and ended with a third-place finish and a long list of what went wrong.