2 weeks Ago By Matthew Neschis
Denny Hamlin’s uncharacteristic struggles behind the wheel have drawn the ire of one motorsports legend. Addressing his recent performance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte asserted that the No. 11 Toyota driver is not performing up to his own standards.
Last weekend, Hamlin finished eighth in the South Point 400 and failed to earn any stage points, thereby sinking 27 points below the postseason cutline heading into Homestead-Miami. To make matters worse, Joey Logano crossed the finish line first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway - meaning there are now only three open spots remaining in the Championship 4. With just two races left in the Round of 8, time is running out for Hamlin to climb above the cutline.
Letarte conceded that little has gone right for the 43-year-old this postseason but expressed optimism that he may be able to turn his fortunes around at a track where he’s dominated in the past. Frankie Muniz announces he's set to pursue full-time NASCAR career - but not in Cup Series Ryan Blaney's despair to NACAR Las Vegas sums up his playoff chances “This playoff has been dismal for the No. 11 car.
This is not the Denny Hamlin we know,” Letarte said. “This is not the Joe Gibbs Racing team we know. Nothing has gone right, but as the field left Denny Hamlin hanging around too long, will this be his week? “A three-time winner at Miami.
He’s won on different cars, different styles, different tires. He knows how to get it done. Would a win at Miami be the catapult? Will that be the momentum shift?” Back in 2009, Hamlin secured his first Cup Series victory at Homestead-Miami and most recently won at the 1.
5-mile track in 2020. Heading into race weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver recognized that he needs to turn in strong results once again to keep his championship hopes alive. “There’s a distinct cut-line now.
We’re on the other side of it,” Hamlin said. “If you want to talk about must-win, it’s probably going to be Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, and if you’re going to talk about must-run top three in every stage and the race for the next two weeks, it’s me and [Tyler] Reddick. No exceptions.
“You must - if you don’t run in the top three every stage, that’s four stages, and the race, there’s no way we make up that kind of ground on [William] Byron, [Kyle] Larson or [Christopher] Bell. That’s assuming, also, that one of them doesn’t have a great week, you know, doesn’t have a great finish. "So you need some help as well.
It’s looking more and more clear on what needs to happen right away.” DON'T MISS: Angel Reese announcement angers fans as Caitlin Clark's sponsor faces criticism Kamala Harris blocked from Barstool Sports podcast appearance by Dave Portnoy Caitlin Clark tipped to turn down huge offer to play with Angel Reese As for how he’s preparing for the pivotal race, Hamlin added: “You just really rely on notes from last time you were there, and then you kind of create offsets from, you know, what has progressed in your cars and your setups from a year ago. Then you put it all on a sheet of paper, and you try to put this Lego piece together in the correct way.
“You do sim work, things like that. You just trust the process. And when you go there, you hope that you’ve hit it.
”.
