Denny Hamlin lays out plan to advance at Bristol

Denny Hamlin may be below the cut-line for the Round of 12 at the moment, but his confidence is through the roof heading into Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.

Hamlin is in a bit of a skid after looking like the driver to beat in the Cup Series for a majority of the regular season. Since being hit with a major points penalty due to no fault of their own, Hamlin has finished P24 at Atlanta, and P23 at Watkins-Glen, and now the team finds themselves six points out of advancing to the next round.

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However, the Joe Gibbs Racing star has been phenomenal at Bristol, winning the last two races at The Last Great Coliseum. During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin laid out his plan for moving on to the Round of 12 in Tennessee.

“We went from thinking we were going to have to win to, ‘Oh, we’ve just got to be ourselves,’ right, and do what we normally do at Bristol. So, that’s why I think the mood switched so quickly between, probably, 15 laps to go, in the Watkins Glen race, to the finish is all,” Hamlin explained. “All that happened in between that, I probably gained 13, 14 points. I went from being like, -20 to -6. Like, -6 ain’t nothing. At that point (being -20), like, you’re going to need to really run well, and then have multiple drivers with issues, which is just less likely. Now, we can just go there and run well and get in.

“… Qualifying will be important, certainly, but I think — I don’t know, just run top five all stages, finish top five in the race, get a 47 point day or so, that’ll be plenty. But I’m planning on going there and winning.”

Alas, it’s easy to see why Hamlin’s confidence is shining through, as Bristol is the perfect track for him to showcase why he’s one of the sport’s best drivers. Regardless, the No. 11 remains in danger of missing the Round of 12 and his chance for his first Cup Series title, which would be a shocking turn of events if it comes to fruition.

Even with his two subpar finishes in the Round of 16, it’s evident Hamlin is still a believer in himself to get his team to the next round: “It’s not over yet. Not over yet. Not over until the end of Bristol,” he said, regarding his chances of making the next round of the playoffs on the radio in Watkins Glen.

Denny Hamlin will put all the doubters to shame if he runs like he usually does at Bristol on Saturday. Bet against him at your own risk, because he has a plan.