$65M-worth Denny Hamlin drops two-word reaction to Kevin Harvick's NASCAR playoff format proposal
Denny Hamlin reacted to Kevin Harvick’s proposal to change the NASCAR playoff format. Harvick suggested that the regular season champion should automatically earn a spot in the Championship 4.
Now in his 19th full-time NASCAR Cup Series season, Hamlin pilots the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. The $65 million worth driver (according to Celebrity Net Worth) was recently eliminated from the 2024 playoffs after the final Round of 8 race at Martinsville Speedway.
The Virginia native reacted to Harvick’s playoff format proposal on X (formerly Twitter). He wrote:
“Not terrible.”
Harvick's proposal intends to make sure drivers battle it out in the first 26 races of the regular season. The 2014 Cup Series champion suggested that the regular season champion would get a guaranteed spot in the Championship 4, the first runner-up would earn a Round of 8 appearance, and the second runner-up would also automatically get into the Round of 12.
Kevin Harvick argued the current format allowed top-performing drivers to be eliminated before the championship race. In the latest episode of the Kevin Harvick Happy Hour podcast, the former NASCAR champion said:
“Let’s face it. This format is exciting. We do not have the best four cars in the Championship 4.”
The 2024 Championship 4 consists of Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron.
Logano was once eliminated from playoff contention but was reinstated following Alex Bowman’s disqualification in the final Round of 12 race at Charlotte. He later won the opening race of the Round of 8 at Las Vegas which gave him a guaranteed spot in the Championship 4.
All Championship 4 drivers have won three races each throughout the 2024 season. This sparked a controversy as the driver with the most race wins, Kyle Larson, isn’t in the championship battle. Larson arguably had the best run this year, amassing the most race wins at six and the most laps led at 1,687 laps.
Denny Hamlin also had a strong year with three race wins and 943 laps led, the third-best behind Christopher Bell, who was also denied a chance to race for the championship.
The season-finale will be held at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.
Denny Hamlin claimed Toyota had no team orders in controversial Martinsville race
Following the controversial last lap at Martinsville Speedway, Denny Hamlin defended Toyota against critics. Hamlin clarified the Japan-based manufacturer never made any rules for its NASCAR drivers regarding helping each other out in races.
For the uninitiated, Toyota was under fire after allegedly ordering the No. 23 Toyota of Bubba Wallace to let the No. 20 Toyota of Christopher Bell pass on the last lap. The move to P18 gave Bell the point he needed to advance to the Championship 4. However, Bell lost control of his car after the overtake and was sent to the wall.
NASCAR later determined the No. 20 driver rode the wall before crossing the checkered flag. He was penalized for a safety violation, costing him the final four spot. This allowed William Byron to jump him on the bubble.
Hamlin said about the controversy (via the Actions Detrimental podcast):
“The only thing I can tell you for a fact because I am part of the Toyota Racing is Toyota Racing never, not once this week, told 23XI to do anything for JGR. They were not involved, whatsoever.”
He added:
“They’ve left it up to the teams. It’s just kind of, ‘You guys figure this out, right? We’re going to provide you what we provide you but we hope you work together.’ But that’s it. There’s never been any rules that Toyota has laid out to say, ‘This is what we want you to do.”
Denny Hamlin is the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and co-owner of 23XI Racing along with NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. Both NASCAR teams, along with Legacy Motor Club, are partners of Toyota.