Only 36 points separate the 16 drivers as NASCAR’s playoffs begin this Sunday at Darlington Raceway in what might be one of the closest fields in the history of this format.
Oh, he’s won the Daytona 500, three times in fact. He’s tied for 13th on the career victory list with 50, only behind two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch and one-time Cup champion Kevin Harvick for most among active drivers. Hamlin has won the Coca-Cola 600, the Southern 500, the Bristol night race and every crown jewel on the NASCAR schedule.
But in this year of parity — six drivers are in the playoff field who didn’t make it last year — the margins are razor thin. William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports and Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, are tied for the points lead headed into the first of 10 playoff races. Four drivers will be eliminated after every third race, leading to a four-driver winner-take-all showdown at Phoenix on Nov. 5.
Hamlin, meanwhile, has two wins and is third in the standings. He trails the leaders by just 11 points and sees no reason why 2023 isn’t the year he finally claims a Cup title. He was full of one-liners Thursday as he tried to avoid getting drawn into a discussion about his future.But is he closer to completing a deal with JGR?
“A lot can happen in the playoffs, which we have seen in the past, we just have to worry about ourselves and be consistent and try to execute and we will be fine,” Truex said. “The other guys — are fast. It is always tough to race with your teammates, because you all have the same thing and you share everything during the week, so how to you find that extra little bit.”
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