“Everything They Do is Right!” Kyle Petty Bets on Denny Hamlin to Win 2026 Regular Season Title Over Tyler Reddick

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season saw an historic early season run from 23XI Racing Tyler Reddick, who won the first three races and became the only driver since Dale Earnhardt Sr. to win five races in the first nine races of the season. Due to the dominance, many predicted the No:45 driver wins the championship, without any real competition.

But the TRD drivers’ boss Denny Hamlin wasn’t ready to let that happen, as the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran close the gap to the 23XI driver by 51 points with in three weeks. He was able to accomplish it by strong finish at Coke 600 and back-to-back wins at Nashville as well as Michigan.

The Toyota driver DNF-ing last Sunday played a key role the points gap drop. Talking about the regular season championship heating up in the latest episode Inside the Race podcast, ex-racer Kyle Petty pointed out that the JGR driver is in in a white-hot form good enough to enter the chase as the points leader.

Where he’s at right now, I say yes. someone is going to have to throw cold water on him to get him to back it down, because they are white hot right now.

Kyle Petty said on Inside the Race podcast.

The veteran racer highlighted that Denny Hamlin and team is executing well over the last two weekends. That’s the reason why the No:11 team was able to match the No:45 of Tyler Reddick, something many pundits’ thoughts not possible few weeks ago. There is still 11 more races left in the regular season and it’s too early to predict a winner.

Everything they do is right. I would have never thought anybody would be this close to Reddick, even in the last race. When he walked off with the regular season trophy, I didn’t think anybody was going to be within 40 or 50 points of him, and here Denny is.

Kyle Petty added.

Denny Hamlin is okay with quitting racing anytime he wants

One key discussion in the NASCAR garage at the moment is when Hamlin is going to retire, as the veteran is 45-years old and doesn’t have much left in him before father time catches up. Talking about it recently, the veteran admitted that he is content about retiring right now as he has 72 wins to his name, and is the 8^th in the all-time win list.

I ain’t getting to eighth. So, what am I doing? I’m content. If I quit tomorrow, I swear I will feel no more gratified than if I go out there and win 72 races. It makes no difference.

Denny Hamlin said.

Furthermore, the star driver admitted that he might get forgotten with in six months of his retirement and he is okay with that. He is ready to spent more time with his family and kids when he is full healthy.

Nobody cares. You’ll be forgotten within six months of when you’re not here. I might as well just enjoy life while I’m still somewhat young and be able to be there a little bit more for the kids.

Denny Hamlin added.

As per reports, Hamlin will retire after the end of the 2027 season, when his current contract with JGR runs out. He might consider signing a one-year extension if he is able to severe multiple wins next season and if not, he won’t remain in the sport for another year.

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