Denny Hamlin Makes Surprising Admission About NASCAR Championship Pressure

Denny Hamlin has spent much of his NASCAR career trying to win the one trophy that has eluded him. Now, with another championship slipping further out of reach, he’s feeling something unexpected.Relief from the pressure.The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran enters Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway trailing Kyle Larson by 73 points with only two races remaining in the 2026 Cup Series season. It’s hardly the position Hamlin envisioned after entering the Chase as the top seed.But rather than allowing the deficit to consume him, Hamlin says the circumstances have changed how he’s approaching the weekend.“I think it’s the first weekend where there’s truthfully little pressure because I think the expectations are just so low,” Hamlin told reporters Saturday.For a driver who has spent two decades chasing his first Cup championship, it’s a remarkable admission. And it comes at a track where he might have his best opportunity to make the title race interesting again.Denny Hamlin Sees Opportunity With Little Left to LoseHamlin isn’t pretending his championship chances are better than they look. In fact, he acknowledged that Larson has become such a strong favorite that many people have already made up their minds about the outcome.“I think that everyone believes that it’s kind of a foregone conclusion [that Larson will win], and I’m not saying that they’re wrong by any means,” Hamlin said.He also acknowledged reaching a point in his career where simply improving his final position in the standings holds little appeal.“What is the difference in second in points versus fifth? That just doesn’t really matter to me at this point in my career,” he said.That perspective changes the stakes at Martinsville.Hamlin doesn’t need another respectable points finish to validate his season. He needs to give Larson something to worry about before the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.“So yeah I think it’s a low-pressure, high-opportunity for the 11 team to go out there and do what we need to do this weekend,” Hamlin said.Martinsville Gives Hamlin a Chance to Change the ConversationThere are few tracks better suited to a Hamlin comeback than Martinsville.His six Cup Series victories at the Virginia short track are the most among active drivers. Earlier this season, he led 292 of 400 laps, swept both stages and finished second.And Saturday offered another encouraging sign: Hamlin won the pole with a lap of 19.226 seconds, putting his No. 11 Toyota on the front row for Sunday’s 500-lap race.Larson, meanwhile, qualified third.Hamlin also made clear that he isn’t overlooking what Larson and the No. 5 team have accomplished. He credited their remarkable Chase performance while acknowledging that his own team hasn’t executed as consistently as it did during the regular season.“We just haven’t executed as good as what we did,” Hamlin said.The difference is that Hamlin no longer has much reason to race conservatively. With Larson holding a commanding advantage, another solid afternoon might not accomplish much.A dominant Martinsville performance, however, could change the conversation heading into Homestead.For once, Hamlin can chase the championship without carrying the expectations that usually come with being one of NASCAR’s leading contenders.