Denny Hamlin Declares Next-Gen Cars Made Luck More Irrelevant in NASCAR

Denny Hamlin firmly believes that the Next-Gen cars have made luck play a much less role in winning races, as it relied more on the drivers' now.

Denny Hamlin Declares Next-Gen Cars Made Luck More Irrelevant in NASCAR

Denny Hamlin (Via @JoeGibbsRacing/X)

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NASCAR’s new-gen cars have continued to receive some extremely mixed opinions on their effectiveness. Many drivers, especially Denny Hamlin, have been very critical of the newer generation of cars, as he has called for changes to the regulations many times. There haven’t been significant changes to the format despite relentless criticism from the drivers.

Now, the JGR veteran retraced his old comments about luck and its role in winning races with the old-gen cars, which didn’t seem like the case this time around. Denny Hamlin is a NASCAR veteran who has been racing in the Cup Series format since the 2005 season. As such, Hamlin has a great knowledge of the different generations of cars and how they perform, and his criticism of the Next-Gen cars hasn’t stopped.

In 2012, the 44-year-old had commented that winning a championship in the Cup Series relied on 20% of luck, 40% of driver skills, and the rest relied on the car and the team’s performance. However, the JGR veteran has recalled these comments and revealed that this isn’t the case anymore with the next-gen cars.

In the previous week, Denny Hamlin was questioned regarding his previous comments about the role of luck in winning races and ultimately the championship. The #11 driver initially reckoned that he still believed that winning was 40% based on the driver and their skills. However, luck’s role had increased since the past, as it was 30% now, and the rest was on the team and the car.

I still think it’s 40 percent driver (but) now I’d switch car and luck to 30 percent each.

Denny Hamlin said, via The Athletic.

Since then, Denny Hamlin reflected on his comments about the role of luck in winning with the ‘quirky’ next-gen cars and made changes to his original comment. The 44-year-old noted that after thinking more on the topic, he believed that drivers played a 65% role, with the team having a 25% role in winning the race.

And about luck, Hamlin insisted that it was just 10% now. The JGR veteran explained that he lowered the importance of luck as it was not a factor anymore in winning races; rather, being a better driver is much more important.

After thinking about it more, I believe these are the correct percentages in today’s world: driver 65 percent, team 25 percent, luck 10 percent, I lowered luck because it’s not a factor in winning as much as being good is. It is still a factor in some wins, but great drivers have more opportunities to win because of their skill level.

Denny Hamlin added.

Denny Hamlin reveals the ‘most important’ factor for winning races and championships

Denny Hamlin has performed great in the 2025 season, winning four coveted races and having 11 top-five finishes. Hence, Hamlin knows a great deal about how to win, especially with the quirks and problems of the next-gen cars. The 44-year-old opened up on the most important factor for winning a race.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Via newsminimalist.com)

Hamlin clarified his percentage distribution of winning a race in NASCAR, and explained that the team definitely still mattered to win a race. However, with the next-gen cars, the teams couldn’t make a difference on the track by just the car. Because of this, the driver remained one of the most important factors behind emerging victorious, as he ultimately sent all the feedback and direction to the team.

Team does matter, but with the Next Gen (car), you can’t build the difference in cars like you used to. The driver is the one who sends team in a direction to make the cars fast, thus being the most important.

Denny Hamlin noted.

Despite constant criticism of the Gen 7 cars and their problems, Denny Hamlin doesn’t seem to have any issues in winning races. The 44-year-old just needs to put his head in the game now and contend for his maiden Cup Series championship. Keeping in mind Hamlin’s performance this season, he could be the favorite to achieve the championship by the end of the year.

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