Denny Hamlin hoping to tie Cale Yarborough in Daytona 500 wins with 'aggression'

If Denny Hamlin can manage to make it to the end of the Daytona 500 and claim his fourth Harley J. Early trophy, he will tie Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough. It would effectively make him the most decorated Daytona winner in the modern NASCAR era.

No one is ever going to catch Richard Petty with seven Daytona 500 wins. It would take an incredibly special driver and set of circumstances that, right now, just doesn’t seem to be there.

However, Yarborough with four victories is well within reach. At least, for a driver like Denny Hamlin who has found so much success at the track and in this race over the years. The fact he has three puts him in elite company.

Hamlin is big on Crown Jewels and where he stands in the record books, so he knows how important a fourth Daytona 500 would be.

“It feels like ages ago [since I won], I don’t know, it was just four years ago but still seems like a long time for me because I come here and I expect to win now,” Hamlin said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “It certainly has evolved over time, right? When you look at how many Richard’s got, the racing is different now, so it’ll be impossible for anyone to reach where Richard’s at. One more would put me in that good category with Cale, which I think is really, really important.”

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has accomplished a lot in his career. Claiming a fourth Daytona 500 win would be something that hasn’t happened in the sport for 40 years. It would elevate him over Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Gordon. In regards to how his career will be remembered, it could end up being the biggest feather in his cap.

Denny Hamlin will be more aggressive than patient

When asked about how he plans to approach the race, Denny Hamlin knew what he planned on doing. A lot of folks will say Daytona, especially now, is all about patient and winning the war of attrition. Hamlin says, not so fast.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver would much rather be overly aggressive than too patient.

“I think aggression wins more than patience,” Hamlin admitted. “You just gotta treat this race a little bit differently in the sense that, while you want to be patient, ‘Hey I’m going to make it to the end, that matters.

“In Next Gen racing on superspeedways, you can’t give up the track position like you used to. So, you have to be aggressive and that’s going to put you in danger most times, but someone always makes it through, you just gotta be the one that makes it through.”

A fourth win in the Daytona 500 would also give Joe Gibbs Racing their fifth victory. They stand alone at fourth all-time among organizations, behind Petty Enterprises at nine, Hendrick Motorsports at eight, and Wood Brothers Racing with five.