Denny Hamlin thinks Phoenix is financially incentivizing NASCAR to keep the Championship race

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin has a theory as to why NASCAR's Championship race is returning to Phoenix Raceway this year. He feels that the racetrack is paying NASCAR for the opportunity to host the grand finale event of the season.

According to Hamlin, there are better racetracks than Phoenix for NASCAR to organize the Championship 4. However, he admitted that letting Phoenix host the coveted race may be economically beneficial for NASCAR. In a recent episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin explained the situation, saying,

"It sounds like to me that Phoenix is paying NASCAR. I mean, we don't see any of that but... I believe they're paying NASCAR for it to be there. So that is kind of how that works in most Championship events like Superbowls, NBA All-Star games... the city will chip in to get the opportunity to host it because it makes an economic impact." (22:40)

"That's a source of revenue for NASCAR so they would certainly, probably rather have the money in their pockets versus going to somewhere else that makes more sense from a competition standpoint," he added.

Hamlin noted how the fans at Phoenix fill the grandstands at every race, no matter the time of the year. Therefore, he found nothing wrong with the decision. However, he expects some improvement in the overall package before NASCAR sets off for Arizona on November 8.

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Denny Hamlin is confident about winning his first Championship

Before the AdventHealth 400 in Kansas a few weeks ago, Denny Hamlin turned candid on his chances of bagging his first Championship title in 19 long years of driving in the sport's topmost tier. The 7-time Pocono champion feels that 2024 is going to be his year to win at Phoenix.

"This is it. This is the year,” Hamlin exclaimed, as per Crash. “This is the year it’s going to happen.”

Hamlin has won 54 races in his career, including one in the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600 and three wins each in the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500. However, the championship title has alluded the American every single time. The closest Hamlin came to winning a championship was in 2010.

Despite leading a race-high 190 laps, a miscalculated pit stop hurled him backward to a 12th-place finish. That year, he fared as the runner-up to 7X Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson on points.

In 2023, the #11 driver got derailed from the Championship rumble at Martinsville and Team Penske star Ryan Blaney took the title home and advanced to the Championship 4.

Denny Hamlin's most recent win came in the Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware, his third of the current season. Today, he stands third on overall points with 447 points to his name, just below his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr.