7 days agoHomestead has always been one of Denny Hamlin's stronger tracks, so it didn't come as much of a surprise that he eventually finished fifth in Sunday's race there, but for a while, it looked like he might finish significantly worse. Hamlin initially started 23rd and fell back as low as 30th in the early laps of Stage 1, but a savvy strategy play to stay out of the pits later during each of the first two stages allowed him to have fresher tires at the end of both stages. It reaped great dividends, as he blasted through the field at the end of both stages, eventually finishing 11th in Stage 1 while making up a massive deficit to Ryan Blaney to win Stage 2. However, he lost the lead to Kyle Larson on the Stage 2 pit stops and would never regain it. His solid run helped erase some doubts as to how Hamlin would run on intermediates without Chris Gabehart as his crew chief.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
1 week agoDenny Hamlin has been reliably consistent at Homestead over the years, earning 13 top-10 finishes in 20 starts as well as three wins. He has also led all three Homestead races with the Next Gen chassis and battled Ryan Blaney and his driver Tyler Reddick for the win last year, but now his former crew chief Chris Gabehart has been replaced by Chris Gayle, and Hamlin doesn't seem as fast. On paper, Hamlin should be one of the best options for DFS play since he qualified 23rd and is likely to score many place-differential points in addition to the fact that he leads here often, but the crew-chief change and his mediocre run last week at Las Vegas (where he started 15th, finished 25th, and only had an average running position of 22nd) suggest that he is likely overvalued for this race.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 weeks agoJoe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin will start 15th for Sunday's race at Las Vegas, the Pennzoil 400. Hamlin's starting position for this week's race matches his starting position from the October 2023 Cup event at the Nevada track. In 26 races at Las Vegas, Hamlin has one win and 14 top-10 finishes, including each of the last three Cup events at the site. Through four races this season, Hamlin has two top-10 finishes, highlighted by a runner-up finish during last week's race at Phoenix to his teammate, Christopher Bell. In practice for this week's race, Hamlin was 24th in overall lap averages but only displayed speed on the longer runs as he ranked 12th in 25 consecutive lap averages and fifth in 30 consecutive lap averages. Although Hamlin's practice speeds may not be the best compared to other top-priced DFS options, he is still worth consideration as an alternative pivot play due to his favorable Las Vegas history and his equipment, which will compete for a top-10 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 weeks agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin will start 10th for this week's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Hamlin is the highest qualifying entry from JGR this week at Phoenix with his second top-10 starting spot obtained this season so far. In 39 Cup starts at Phoenix, Hamlin has 22 top-10 finishes, with his last one being earned during the November 2023 Cup event at the site. In practice, Hamlin ranked 33rd of all drivers in overall lap averages and did not approach the top 10 in any of the other categories based on speed. Although historically, Hamlin has been a great driver at Phoenix, he is difficult to recommend outside of tournament games as he has low upside from his start position, a high salary ($9,700 on DraftKings), and uninspiring practice speeds.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
RADIO
