“It’s f***ing on now”: Denny Hamlin pumped after 'easing' through the elimination night at Bristol

Denny Hamlin has finally secured a spot in the round of 12 and will continue his playoff journey. He finished in the top five at the Bass Pro Night Race held at the world's fastest half-mile track in Tennessee on Saturday, September 21. After the race, Hamlin lauded his team's efforts while showing optimism about the future races

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was six points shy of qualifying in the next round of playoffs and was in 13th position in the standings. However, he moved from 13th to sixth place in just one race.

After performing poorly in the first two elimination races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International, things were not easy for the Florida native. Denny Hamlin failed to secure a spot in the top 20 and was in P24 in Atlanta and P23 at Watkins Glen, pushing him on the verge of disqualification from the playoffs.

However, the 43-year-old's vast experience saw him clinch a promising position at Bristol Motor Speedway. The #11 Toyota driver built a tire strategy from his previous win at Bristol that helped him enter the round of 12. Hamlin qualified in the eighth position with a best time of 15.369 seconds and a top speed of 125.666 mph. He was 0.127 seconds behind the leader, Alex Bowman.

The Florida native displayed a dominating approach from the start and moved up two places in stage 1, earning five playoff points. After the end of stage 2, Denny Hamlin was in third place, with eight points added to his playoff points. The NASCAR official X account has shared a post of the American celebrating his top-5 finish after the race.

The #11 Toyota's crew chief Chris Gabehart acknowledged his team's hard work after finishing in P4. Hamlin was also pumped and said:

"Way to fight, guys. It's f***ing on."

The #11 Toyota team is satisfied after 'easing' through the elimination race at Bristol.

After Bristol, Denny Hamlin is set to go "all offensive" for upcoming races

The Florida native will succeed in the playoffs with a solid sixth position in the standings and will now be remapping his strategy in the upcoming races. Denny Hamlin is heading to the Hollywood Casino 400, scheduled at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 29.

In a post-race interview, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver talked about his experience at Bristo. He said (via Skewcar on X):

"My aspirations was to win it, you know, but it looked like the #5 there just was better than all of us. Yeah, solid car. I thought we were really good towards the middle stages. And then there at the end just got too loose and couldn't hang on to kind of what we had there. But overall top five day. Good stage points, kind of in the mix."

He further explained his strategy, saying:

"It's all offense from this point forward, so yeah. We're going to Kansas, the track we've been really, really good at. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the rest of the run." [00:47]

After finishing fourth at the Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin earned 46 points and is now in sixth place in the playoff standings with a seven-point buffer.