Denny Hamlin pushes back on Toyota momentum narrative after NASCAR playoffs win at Gateway

It’s hard not to say that Toyota is the manufacturer to beat in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Chase Briscoe dominated the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, got the checkered flag in Sunday’s race at Gateway.

Toyota and JGR are 2-for-2 in the playoffs, but Hamlin isn’t reading too much into it. Eight races remain in the postseason, and Hamlin knows as well as anybody that things can change quickly under the current format. Look no further than Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano capturing championships each of the last two seasons despite not being talked about during the regular season, Hamlin said on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast.

“I saw that narrative; I don’t know, is it more coincidence? I know the story, right now, from the media is it’s oh my gosh, Toyota is just so fast and they’re the ones to beat,” Hamlin said. “Understand beating that drum, but the 12 [Blaney] came out of nowhere the past few years. Nonexistent for the most part in the regular season and then came playoff time and all of a sudden, they win one of the playoff races and then they win three or four of them. It was like, where did this speed come from? Like, it was overnight, like a light switch. And then, the 22 [Logano] found a way to get through the playoffs and then all of a sudden, has a great restart at Phoenix and is your champion for the entire season from that race.

“It’s just too unpredictable. I understand based off speed why everyone would say that. But I also think that the 5 [Kyle Larson] showed us… they had massive speed. That’s a track where they struggle. The 9 [Chase Elliott] had serviceable speed yesterday. I still think it’s anyone’s race and I just think the narrative could change very quickly. So, I would pump the brakes. … It’s hard to maintain momentum. It’s very hard to do that in the Cup Series because each week, there are so many different variables that can change or shift momentum.”

Denny Hamlin, Toyotas strong to start postseason

Briscoe and Hamlin have the wins, but it goes deeper than that. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick are fourth and seventh in the playoff standings, respectively. JGR’s Christopher Bell is sitting in eighth.

So, yes, the Toyotas have undoubtedly had the best start to the postseason of any manufacturer. As Hamlin said, however, it’s early. This Saturday is the Round of 16 finale at Bristol Motor Speedway. If there’s extreme tire wear, expect chaos.