Brad Keselowski “Feels Bad for Denny Hamlin” but There is an asterisk

Brad Keselowski asserted that he felt bad for Denny Hamlin as he narrowly missed out on the championship win to Kyle Larson.

Brad Keselowski “Feels Bad for Denny Hamlin” but There is an asterisk

Denny Hamlin (via NASCAR), Brad Keselowski (via USA Today)

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Denny Hamlin was unable to finally end his two-decade championship winless streak in the 2025 season as well. Despite being the winningest driver on track this year and making it through the playoff rounds, he couldn’t bring home a championship win in Phoenix. The JGR veteran was left shattered after his title loss and was very emotional coming out of the car. Now, Brad Keselowski has provided some words of affirmation to Hamlin, but with a caveat.

The 2025 season was extremely positive for Denny Hamlin in terms of race results. The 44-year-old was on the trajectory of achieving a stellar Cup Series title win if it wasn’t for his loss at the end of the season. The current playoff format proved to be a pain point for Hamlin as it caused him to lose the title at the very end of the year, and not based on points. Despite not having any Penske drivers in the Championship-4, he was unable to achieve the coveted title win against Kyle Larson.

Now, Brad Keselowski has shared his candid opinion on Denny Hamlin’s title loss against Kyle Larson at Phoenix. The RFK Racing star was questioned about his thoughts on Hamlin’s defeat and if the former felt any remorse for him. While Keselowski accepted that he did indeed feel bad for the 44-year-old, he talked about another surprising point.

Brad Keselowski explained that the drivers were at an age where winning races had more value than championship wins. Denny Hamlin has already won over 60 races in his career, six of which came in the 2025 season alone. As such, Keselowski was impressed with the fact that the Veteran won so many races in recent years and was not showing signs of slowing down with age.

Hamlin certainly has many other points to remember and cherish from his 2025 season rather than his championship loss. The 44-year-old has already talked about retiring in a couple of years, but this year might push him towards an even earlier exit from the sport. On the contrary, it could motivate him to continue racing and not stop until he has achieved his deserved championship win.

Do I feel bad for Denny Hamlin?
Yes, but we are in an age where race wins have more value than championships and he has won a lot the last few years.

Brad Keselowski said via X, @keselowski.

Brad Keselowski reveals if other teams can win championship apart from the top teams

In recent years, Team Hendrick, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs Racing have been the dominating factors and have achieved a lot of impressive race wins. Moreover, drivers from these teams are usually the favorites to win the Cup Series title at the end of the season. Although other drivers and teams are fighting for race wins, they seldom appear in the Championship-4 in a battle for the coveted championship win.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson (Via IMAGO)

Brad Keselowski opined on whether other teams could win the championship apart from Hendrick, Penske, or JGR. Keselowski insisted that realistically, it was very difficult to predict any other championship winner apart from these three teams. There is some truth to this claim from the RFK Racing star as drivers from these teams have only won the titles in recent years, with all of them making it into the Championship-4 as well.

Can someone other than Hendrick, Penske or Gibbs win the cup series championship?
Not realistically with the current OEM rules

Brad Keselowski noted.

Denny Hamlin will certainly be very sad and disheartened for quite some time now. However, he is a great driver above all these on-track shenanigans. Hamlin will be motivated to come back to the grid and prove his racing prowess and win the coveted title.

Read More: Clint Bowyer Brands Denny Hamlin 2025 Championship Loss as the “Worse Heart Breaker” in NASCAR History