Kevin Harvick casts doubt on Denny Hamlin’s capability of handling ‘championship winning pressure’
Kevin Harvick seems heartbroken about Denny Hamlin’s 2025 performance and seems be questioning his championship prediction.
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Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick (Via IMAGO)
The 2024 NASCAR Cup regular season has been impressive for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin that saw him win three races and establish himself as a solid championship contender. But with the first two round of the R-16 concluded, the No:11 has found themselves six points off the cut-off line and in risk of getting eliminated on the first round of playoffs.
Ex-NASCAR Cup champion Kevin Harvick, who has been backing Denny Hamlin to win the championship, recently gave his verdict on how the JGR driver will handle the pressure to win the championship. He doubts if the veteran will be able to survive this pressure, considering he has never done the same previously.
The thing about Denny has always seemed that he’s handled [pressure well]. He’s got a lot of things that he can handle well off the racetrack. And still get in the car and perform. But he’s never gotten to the point of being able to handle it well and win a championship.Kevin Harvick said via Happy Hour podcast.
The SHR driver admitted that he though Hamlin will be able thrive under this pressure in 2024 and now feels like he might have been wrong. His doubts and questions are product of the No:11 team going for a safe strategy at Atlanta.
That’s the part I really thought was gonna be different this year. But when we went to the very first freaking [playoff] race, we’re right back into questioning that.Kevin Harvick added.
Kevin Harvick expects Denny Hamlin to prove himself at Bristol
Coming into Bristol, a track where he has won before, Hamlin and crew got a great chance to land the championship. Harvick highlighted that the JGR crew has to be on their game the whole race to progress to next-round and he still has confidence in the star driver.
And as much as we can talk about the performance and how great the team is, the very first decision that was made in the playoffs opens that question back up. We’re gonna find out how strong they are right now. I expect them to go to Bristol and to be able to perform. But you gotta put the whole thing together.Kevin Harvick said.
The 2024 season in on the line for Hamlin at Bristol and as Harvick suggested this will be the race where the JGR driver has to prove he deserves to win the championship. It will be interesting to see how Hamlin would perform in the R-16 finale.
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Justin P Joy
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