Denny Hamlin has been racing in the NASCAR Cup Series for 20 years, ending the year inside the top five in the championship standings ten times.
That impressive career includes 60 career wins (tied for tenth on the all-time wins list), three Daytona 500 trophies, three Southern 500 triumphs, and a Coca-Cola 600. He's even won the All-Star Race. And while Hamlin has never won a NASCAR Cup championship, everyone thought 2025 was finally going to be his year.
Hamlin led the series in race wins and was at the center of every storyline that mattered. He ran a perfect race at Phoenix, dominating his title rivals, and yet, he still left empty-handed. It's a familiar feeling for the driver of the No. 11, who is now zero for 20 in his attempts to become a champion at the highest level of stock car racing. Here's a look back on all of the moments when he nearly grasped the Bill France Cup:
2006 - An impressive rookie season
Hamlin wasn't 'that' close in his first season in the Cup Series, but it's still worth mentioning. Under the old ten-race postseason and at the start of Jimmie Johnson's historic five-year run as champion, Hamlin ended the season 68 points behind him and just 12 points behind Matt Kenseth for the runner-up spot. Under the 2006 points format, the margin between Hamlin and Johnson was the points gap between 1st and 15th in any given race.
2010 -- Giving it away in the final race
Now this is the one most will remember well, and until this past weekend, it was the only time Hamlin has ended the season as the championship runner-up. Hamlin entered the finale with the championship lead, and 15 points between himself and Johnson. Hamlin started the race at the back of the field, and was a bit too impatient in attempting to make his way through the pack. He made contact with Greg Biffle just 25 laps into the race and spun out. He never really recovered after suffering some splitter damage, finishing 14th while Johnson finished second. He lost the title by 39 points.
2014 -- A member of the first Championship 4
Hamlin was one of the first to make it all the way to the final round in the current elimination-style format. He joined Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, and Joey Logano in the inaugural Championship 4. He led 50 laps, but Harvick seemed to have the speed advantage. During a late-race caution, Hamlin stayed out while the rest of his title rivals chose to pit. Hamlin held the lead for several laps, but Harvick ran him down and took the top spot away with just seven laps to go. Newman followed suit, and Hamlin was left to finish third in the championship standings.
2019 -- Running too hot
In 2019, Hamlin was part of a Championship 4 that featured teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., as well as Harvick again. The team applies too much grill tape for the final run as he attempted to chase down Busch for the title. With 50 laps left, the water temperature was pegged and the car began to push water. Facing an engine failure if he stayed out, Hamlin was forced to return to pit road. As he pulled into his stall, water was pouring out like a geyser from the No. 11 car. He ended the race in tenth place, and fourth in the championship standings.
2020 -- Not quite fast enough
Making it to the Championship 4 is quite the feat, but once there, you want to be able to contend. In the first year with Phoenix as the finale, Hamlin was simply outmatched. He led no laps and finished fourth among the title finalists. He ran inside top five for much of the race, but he simply had nothing for the Penske and Hendrick cars he was facing.
2021 -- Falling short on late-race restart
For the third consecutive year, Hamlin made the final four, but again lacked the speed necessary to go out and win outright. Hamlin still managed to finish third in the race and the championship, but like one year prior, he didn't lead a single lap. On the final restart, he was on the front row beside Kyle Larson, but Larson was clear of Hamlin before they even reached Turn 1. With how important clean air was with the 550hp package, that was game over.
2022 -- Eliminated by the unthinkable
Hamlin didn't make it to the Championship 4 in 2022, but the way he was knocked out of contention makes it plenty worthy to be on this list. He entered the Round of 8 cutoff race at a deficit to Ross Chastain, but he made it all up via stage points and a strong performance at Martinsville. He entered Turn 3 on the final lap in a comfortable position and +2pts above Chastain, ensuring his own advancement. However, he exited Turn 4 with a smoking No. 1 car rapidly approaching as Chastain rode against the outside wall at a high rate of speed. Chastain beat Hamlin to the line in a move no one thought possible before it was done, and Hamlin was in complete shock as he was eliminated from title contention. The only consolation is that Penske dominated Phoenix the following weekend, and it's likely Hamlin would have fallen short of Logano anyway, just as Chastain did.
2025 -- 40 seconds away...
As Hamlin himself said, he was about 40 seconds away from taking the white flag and ensuring the race couldn't go into overtime when the caution flag flew for William Byron, who hit the wall with a cut tire. At the time, Hamlin was cruising out front with one hand on the trophy. It's the closest he's ever come to winning it all. Hamlin's team had three choices at this point: Stay out, take two tires, or four. They opted for four fresh tires, which dropped him from first to tenth on track. They underestimated how many would go onto an alternate strategy, and likely didn't expect title rival Kyle Larson to take two tires again after doing it during the previous pit stop. Hamlin tried to claw his way forward, but it was a futile effort as he only reached sixth place while Larson finished third and stole the title away. Larson did it without leading a single lap, while a devastated Hamlin had led over 200 laps that day. Behind the wheel, he did everything right, but still lost.
20 full-time seasons in Cup, 60 career wins, and still no championship. He has two years left on what may be his final contract with Joe Gibbs Racing before retirement, so there's still some time left for the 44-year-old to get it done. However, this latest defeat will be hardest to swallow, with Hamlin recently saying:
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