Has Denny Hamlin missed his shot at winning the NASCAR Cup Series title that has eluded him for so long?

Denny Hamlin was a strong favorite to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship a few weeks ago. The coveted title which has eluded him for so long seemed within touching distance. However, it just goes on to show how quickly things change in NASCAR after Hamlin crashed out in the Homestead playoff race.

Standing on the brink of elimination, Denny Hamlin now needs a miraculous performance and win back-to-back races to stand a chance of winning the Cup Series championship. Although it's not impossible, only 2 drivers have won successive races in the last 2 years - Kyle Larson (twice) and Chris Buescher this season.

The good news for Denny Hamlin fans is that this is not the first time he finds himself in such a situation. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver previously found himself over 15 points below the cut-line going into the final playoff race in 2017 and 2019. But he bounced back and finished first and second respectively in Stage 1 and Stage 2 in both races. Moreover, the 51-times NASCAR race winner also entered last year's final playoff race 5 points below the cut line before losing out to Ross Chastain's infamous 'video game' move.

According to NBC Sports, the 44-year-old told the media,

“We tried and it just didn’t work out. Unfortunate for this Sport Clips Toyota team. We really battled back well today – just a tough break.”

Denny would be gutted to find himself in this position, especially after boldly claiming it was going to be his year this season. Did the 44-year-old jinx himself? Only time will tell.

Ryan Blaney enjoyed Denny Hamlin crashing into the wall at Miami

One driver who was happy to see Denny Hamlin crash was his playoff rival, Ryan Blaney. The Penske driver didn't mince his words while sharing his thoughts about the incident.

Sharing his post-race thoughts, Blaney used Hamlin's own words against him and labeled him a hack.

"He tried to slide me two or three times and failed miserably, and then just decided to use me up."

The Penske driver further added,

"I mean, if you’re going to slide somebody, slide somebody, commit. Don’t halfway do it and use me up. What does he say? Hack? I think he was that today."

Ryan Blaney now finds himself 10 points safe from the cut-off line after going into the race 17 points from the safety zone. The penultimate race of the NASCAR season at Martinsville is sure to be a tantalizing affair. Will Denny Hamlin have the last laugh on Ryan Blaney?