“He deserves to know what that feels like”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes feelings clear about Denny Hamlin’s NASCAR championship void

Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighed in on Denny Hamlin's title hopes and suggested that he deserves a championship nonetheless. He noted how Hamlin stands out like a 'unicorn,' boasting countless wins and yet without a championship to his name.

Hamlin is the winningest driver this year with five wins so far. With his recent triumph at Gateway, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is one win away from tying Kevin Harvick for tenth in the all-time wins list.

The JGR driver also displayed dominant form with back-to-back poles at the Southern 500 and the Enjoy Illinois 300, leading a race-high 75 laps in the latter. Despite his stellar stat sheet, Hamlin hasn't reached the final four in the Next Gen Era and has failed to grab a Cup Series title in his four championship four appearances so far.

Reflecting on the same, Earnhardt admitted that he'd like to see Hamlin win it all.

"He deserves to win a championship. He deserves to know what that feels like. All the wins, all the trophies in the house, all the things he has in his memory of his career, he deserves to have a trophy," he said via Youtube/ Dale Jr Download [44:47 onwards]

"Would he be unicorn if he were to have all of this and end it all without that title. There's no real comparison, maybe Mark Martin," he added.

Denny Hamlin has been trying his luck for 21 years in the Cup Series. He's made an impressive 19 playoff appearances with 59 wins to his name.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself had one of the most enduring careers, with 19 seasons, 26 Cup Series wins, eight playoff appearances, and a career-best third in points back in 2003.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. picks William Byron over Denny Hamlin for 2025 Cup title

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently went over his championship four picks for the year. While the list included Denny Hamlin, Earnhardt chose to side with Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron.

"Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Ryan Blaney. I like those picks. And I feel like as much as I want to think that Blaney wins the championship between those four at Phoenix, I just feel like Byron does. I don't know why," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. [56:55 onwards]

A surprise pick in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s final four candidates is Chase Briscoe. The No. 19 Toyota driver is in his debut season with JGR and has already racked up two wins and six poles so far.

Briscoe's already locked into the Round of 12 after winning the Southern 500 in dominant fashion. He led a race-high 309-laps to win the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, while coming in second at Gateway after starting on the second row.