"The rest takes care of itself" - Denny Hamlin crew chief discusses "all offensive" Bristol strategy amid playoff elimination risk

Denny Hamlin's crew chief Chris Gabehart recently shed light on the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing team's all-offensive strategy for the Bristol Night Race. Gabehart insists that he is not concerned about the points situation and is solely focused on winning the 500-lap race.

Hamlin enters the Round of 16 cut-off race six points below the cutline. The #11 JGR Toyota team finds itself in a precarious situation due to the unusual strategy choice in Atlanta and a lap one wreck in Watkins Glen, leaving them with plenty of ground to cover in Bristol.

Despite the looming threat of elimination, Hamlin's crew chief, Chris Gabehart, remains unconcerned about the points situation. He is fully focused on winning the Bristol Night Race, which he considers nearly as prestigious as the crown jewel events. Given Hamlin's impressive performance at Bristol, the 43-year-old is confident that a win will revitalize their title campaign after recent setbacks.

"I think in our scenario particularly, it helps take the pressure of the points off. I know this sounds silly and I certainly want to move on, but for me I want to win the Bristol Night Race. It's my favorite track and been fortunate to win it twice with Denny. I think that helps right?" Gabehart said on SiriusXM NASCAR radio.

"Being just six points behind, as good as we run there, and making the focus winning the Bristol Night race the rest takes care of itself. And it kind of takes a lot of pressure off... There are going to be a lot of nervous teams at the track this weekend, and certainly we want to move on but it's going to be all offense for the #11," he added.

Hamlin, a four-time winner at the concrete oval in Bristol, including three victories in the night race, enters the weekend as a strong favorite, having won the last two races at the track.

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Denny Hamlin will be on the offense "entire time" at Bristol

Following disappointing results at Atlanta and Watkins Glen, Denny Hamlin is seeking redemption at his favorite track, Bristol Motor Speedway. The 43-year-old believes the team simply needs to be itself and not stress about the points situation.

Hamlin also believes that the #11 JGR team is not in a must-win situation, suggesting that a six-point deficit to the cutline "is nothing." Elaborating on his offensive mindset, here's what he said on his podcast Actions Detrimental:

"I love the fact that we get to go there on the offense. I’m going to be on offense the entire time. We went from thinking we were going to have to win to, ‘Oh, we just got to be ourselves and do what we normally do at Bristol,’ … Minus six (to the cutline) ain’t nothing." [from 31:45]

As he aims to advance to the next round and fight for his maiden title, the spotlight will be on Hamlin this weekend. Other drivers below the cutline include Brad Keselowski (-12), Martin Truex Jr (-14), and Harrison Burton (-20). The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is scheduled for this Saturday, September 21, at 7:30 PM ET.