"I'm very vulnerable now" - Denny Hamlin expresses concern over penalty, notes Ryan Blaney's points challenge

Ahead of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race, Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on being penalized for the recent L2-level violation. He has now slipped out of contention for the regular-season championship. Hamlin and his #11 Toyota Camry team were found violating NASCAR's engine inspection requirement after his Bristol win.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been docked 75 driver and owner points, due to which he slipped from P3 to P6 in the 2024 Cup Series standings. It also cost Hamlin 10 playoff points and a $100,000 fine for his spotter, Chris Gabehart.

In a recent conversation with the media, the 43-year-old opened up on the impact the penalty has on his championship run for the 2024 season. Hamlin said (via Bob Pockrass):

"Just I knew, you celebrate these one-point stage victories and race victories so much because of, you know that, man, every round I've got that. And when I look at like, you know, wearing contention for the regular season, that's gone."

Furthermore, Hamlin claimed he is effectively out of contention for a worst-case scenario of fourth spot in the regular season championship. With two races remaining, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney has now displaced him by taking the P4 in the driver's standings.

"You know, what we're potentially lost and could lose more, you know, like [Ryan]Blaney wasn't going to reach us in points. So at the worst, we were going to be fourth. We could go back to eight, nine. It's not just those 10 points, it's the seven, eight others that we're going to miss out on every round. So, cumulative, it could be 50 or so points," Hamlin said.

"Now I'm kind of back there in the middle of the where it's like, you know, I'm very vulnerable in some spots," he added.

---

Denny Hamlin plans "on being selfish" instead of aiding his teammates in the Daytona race

NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin has amassed 54 Cup Series wins, but is still without a championship title in two decades.

In a recent media interaction, the three-time Daytona 500 winner said he would look to garner more playoff points in the two remaining races after the L2-level penalty. He said:

"If you're speaking about tomorrow night, I mean, I plan on being selfish anyway. I was racing Tyler Reddick for the regular season. But really I've got so many people around me on points now that I just need to get the best result that I possibly can." [11:15]

"If there's opportunity to help my teammates I definitely will as long as it's not a detriment to what I believe will be my result to that point," Hamlin added.

Before entering the 25th Cup Series race of the season, Hamlin is 103 points behind table leader Tyler Reddick. He is now placed at P6 with three wins, nine top-fives, and 11 top-10 finishes.