Kevin Harvick sends Denny Hamlin warning shot to rest of NASCAR Cup field

Denny Hamlin had an entire week off ahead of this past Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway. He did not make the trip to Mexico City after his fiancée Jordan Fish gave birth to their third child and first son.

Hamlin’s on-track return came at arguably his best track. He entered Sunday’s race with a NASCAR Cup Series record seven wins at Pocono. At times, it looked as if No. 8 was well within reach. Instead, he finished second to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe. FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick still came away impressed by the 44-year-old, he said on Tuesday’s “Happy Hour” podcast.

“For him to come back, I think he knew he needed to make a statement and I think he was also coming back to a track that he was very confident in,” Harvick said. “After his paternity leave and week off in Mexico, I think he did exactly what everybody thought he was going to do and that was qualify on the pole and be a contender through the race. The 11 is definitely hitting on all cylinders, and I think as you go through the rest of the year, you’re going to have to deal with them.”

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Hamlin is at that age where driver performance typically starts to fade; he apparently didn’t get the memo. Hamlin sits third in the points standings with three victories in 16 starts this season. The only thing Hamlin has failed to win throughout his Hall of Fame career is a Cup Championship. Right now, he looks as capable as any driver of making a run at it.

Hamlin has been on another level in his last three starts. He’s qualified third or better in each race and finished inside the top three. Hamlin badly wanted to win at Pocono, but he was unable to pass Briscoe in the closing laps despite running full throttle as Briscoe was in fuel saving mode.

“It was definitely going to be really difficult,” Hamlin said on the Prime Video broadcast. “The key moment, the 19 [Briscoe] and like three or four others pitted. And then that caution came out, and it leaped them in front of us. At that point, we knew it was going to be really hard to pass those guys back on the racetrack. The team did a great job, next best in line there of our strategy. Just didn’t work out.”