NASCAR driver confidential: Will Denny Hamlin win a title? Who is most underrated?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers have plenty of opinions. And a variety.
But there is one thing many agree on: Denny Hamlin will win a Cup championship — one day.
Maybe they feel like the odds are in his favor. Maybe they just feel someone who has won 54 Cup races in his career has shown the consistent strength that will finish off a season hoisting a trophy.
As they dropped by the FOX Sports station during playoff media day, we asked the 16 playoff drivers six questions in a written survey that were then placed in a box so we wouldn't know their answers. We tried to keep the questions a little open to interpretation and not give instructions, so there were a variety of answers — some drivers chose to give one answer (which was implied in the question) but others put down several answers.
We then asked most drivers to explain one or two of their answers on the questionnaire, granting them anonymity.
Here are the results:
Which track should host the championship race?
1. Las Vegas (7 votes)
2. Homestead (6)
3. Charlotte (4)
Many drivers picked more than one track — and that makes sense in that they often want it to move around.
Among the driver comments:
"Homestead or Darlington. Darlington is pretty fun." ... We then mentioned to the driver that he had won at both those tracks in national series events, and he replied: "Yeah, guess that helps."
"Charlotte. Because the racing has gotten pretty good there. It’s a good balance between car, driver, pit crew. I just think it will be a total, complete test."
"Charlotte is a great race. It’s a different mile-and-a-half. ... It's a mile-and-a-half that drives like a short track."
Do you like the current playoff format?
1. No (8)
2. Yes (7)
3. One driver wrote: "IDK"
The drivers had a variety of ideas about having a mix of the former 10-race playoff system and current eliminations. Some drivers said go back to the traditional points.
Driver comments:
"It is what it is. The current playoff format is the only one I’ve ever run on the Cup side. ... I have a suggestion for a hybrid format that I think is pretty solid but I don’t make those decisions."
(the suggestion: Eliminate eight drivers after five races and have eight drivers compete over the final five)
"It sucks ass."
"Yes. It helped me this year. But when I watched it as a fan, did I like it? It was just fun to watch."
Will Denny Hamlin ever win a championship?
1. Yes (12)
2. No (4)
This question got the most reaction from drivers, with some laughing and some calling us NSFW names for calling Hamlin out considering his great career.
Driver comments:
"If you asked 10 years ago, a resounding yes."
"He’s obviously a really good race-car driver. A very smart racer. Probably understands a lot of the sport as good or better than anyone else because he gets to see both sides of it. He’s put himself in that position many times. You’d think eventually the odds would work in his favor."
"I don’t really know if he will or not. He’s plenty of good enough too. It just seems like something has always happened. It’s surprising he hasn’t already. Maybe he won’t because it’s also surprising Mark Martin never did."
Which driver do you wish was your teammate?
1. Kyle Larson (4)
2. Christopher Bell (3)
Several with two votes: Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott, Todd Gilliland, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace.
Driver comments:
"Christopher Bell. I just like him. He’s a good kid. He’s a good driver. It’s fun to talk to him about cars. I have a lot of respect for his abilities."
"William Byron. I like him."
"Tyler Reddick. We get along really well and he proves to be a good teammate when the time comes up. He’s very thoughtful toward others in and out of the race car."
Who is the most underrated driver in the Cup Series?
1. Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Erik Jones (2)
Twelve drivers received one vote
Driver comments:
"Carson Hocevar. I just think he’s really, really good. He always has really good car control. He’s super aggressive on the restarts. ... As he gets more and more experience, he’s going to be a threat for years to come."
"Michael McDowell. Just because I think if he was in a Hendrick car, I think he would do a great job. Hocevar also, but I don’t think he’s underrated. I think McDowell is underrated.
"I was torn on that one. Todd Gilliland has done a really good job this year. They’ve been on a little bit of a lull, but a driver who has ultimately got it, I would say, is Justin Haley with the way he has run in a Rick Ware car."
What driver would you least want beside you on a late-race restart?
1. Ross Chastain (4)
2. Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano (3)
3. Austin Dillon, Carson Hocevar, Kyle Larson (2)
We almost split this into two questions — least wanting beside you because they are so good; and then another least wanting beside you because they are so sketchy. But we opted for one question and left it up to interpretation.
One driver didn’t mark anyone, just writing "IDGAF" on the sheet.
Driver comments:
"Based on recent events, it would be Austin Dillon."
"I put three of them (but won’t say). They make a lot of dumb decisions."
"Austin Dillon. I can answer that one pretty easy."
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
