Kevin Harvick makes a big claim about Denny Hamlin’s future
Former NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick has claimed that Denny Hamlin is poised for a strong season. In the latest episode of the Happy Hour podcast, Harvick noted that the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing team has overcome the criticisms suggesting Hamlin would have a bad year.
The negative feedback stemmed from the shuffle in the #11's crew chief role. Hamlin's former crew chief, Chris Gabehart, was reassigned as JGR's director of competition and replaced by Chris Gayle. Moreover, long-time sponsor FedEx left the sport, while some argued the veteran driver was past his prime.
However, Kevin Harvick believes Denny Hamlin can still be a frontrunner, as evidenced by his good race results, including recent back-to-back wins (Martinsville and Darlington).
"They're (#11 team) in a great spot. They've gotten rid of all the conversation about new crew chief, new situation, 'Where's Denny (Hamlin)? Where's this? Where's that?'" Kevin Harvick said on the Happy Hour podcast. [13:50]
"Denny's winning, Denny's a contender, he's going to be there for a while in contention to win races, run in the top five, and lead laps, and do the things that we expect out of Denny Hamlin," he added.
The 60-time Cup race winner expects the #11 team to conclude Denny Hamlin's 20th full-time schedule in the premier series on a good note, saying:
"I think that situation is well on its way to having a good year." [14:16]
After nine races in the 2025 season, Denny Hamlin has amassed two wins, five top-5s, and six top-10s. He started the year by leading on the final lap of the Daytona 500, but was caught in a multi-car wreck; he eventually dropped to 24th place.
His most recent outing at Bristol Motor Speedway saw him finish second. Notably, Kyle Larson won after leading for 411 of 500 laps, thus preventing Hamlin from winning three consecutive races.
NASCAR still has 27 races left on the calendar, including a 10-race schedule in the playoffs. The Cup racing action will resume at Talladega Superspeedway on April 27 following a one-race break amid the Xfinity and Truck Series' visit at the returning Rockingham Speedway this weekend.
"Denny's running out of opportunities": Kevin Harvick's previous statement on Denny Hamlin's championship hopes
Kevin Harvick may now feel optimistic about Denny Hamlin's future, but that wasn't always the case. After the fourth race of the year at Phoenix Raceway, Harvick speculated Hamlin's best days may be behind him.
At the time, Hamlin crossed the line behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and race winner, Christopher Bell. He came off two finishes outside the top-20 and was out of contention for the win at Atlanta, where he scored a sixth-place finish.
Speaking about Hamlin's future in March 2025, Kevin Harvick argued the veteran driver was running out of opportunities to win a championship and races, saying (via Happy Hour podcast):
"I've been in that position that Denny is in. When you know that number is clicking down and you're going through another race that you had an opportunity to win, it's not always that we have next year, right? And Denny's running out of opportunities to not only win a championship, but to win races, and he wants to win races, he's capable of winning races." [19:50]
Notably, Denny Hamlin is one of two NASCAR Cup Series drivers to win at least 50 races without a championship. The other driver is Junior Johnson with 50 career victories (Hamlin has won 56 races so far).