Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

Denny Hamlin evalutes first half of 2026 NASCAR season: 'We're right where we need to be'

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones05/19/26brianjones_93

Denny Hamlin is happy with where he is heading into the second half of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. On3 recently spoke to the 45-year-old about the first half of the year, and he said the No. 11 team is in a good spot to compete for a Cup Series title.

“Statistically, its average finish is best as it’s been. Every year, it gets a little better,” Denny Hamlin told On3. “I mean, we’ve led the most laps in this series. I mean, truthfully, we’ve gotten very unlucky to not win probably three races, four races to this point, but we’re right there.

“We unfortunately have run through a steamroller of Tyler Reddick, who is on an unprecedented run winning five races so far, nearly half the races, and hasn’t had a worse finish than 15th all year. So I think that we’re doing well. This is all about positioning yourselves before the playoffs start in September. I personally believe you need to be in the top five points to have a legitimate shot of winning it. And so we’re right where we need to be.”

Hamlin has one victory this year, which was at Las Vegas. But he has earned seven top-10 finishes in 12 races this season, including second-place finishes at Martinsville and Kansas. Hamlin has finished inside the top 20 in every race except for the Daytona 500 (P31 finish). He is currently in second place in the standings and 129 points behind the leader, Reddick.

The second half of the season will include some interesting races, such as the Coca-Cola 600, the road course in San Diego, the return of Chicagoland, and the second races of the year at Atlanta and Daytona. Hamlin will have some momentum heading into the next 14 races after winning the All-Star Race at Dover on Sunday.

“It makes it a lot easier when you got a car this fast, honestly,” Hamlin said after the race. “Hats off to this whole Progressive team. I want to say what’s up to Trish, Mauri, and everyone at Progressive. Got to see all their employees and agents this past week. We strive to be No. 1. We did it today.”