Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin (worth $65M as per Celebrity Net Worth) revealed that he aims to win 60 Cup Series races before retiring.
The #11 Toyota driver has won 53 races since his full-time debut in 2006. While he continues to race competitively, he spoke of his goal before retiring from NASCAR.
Talking to Frank Fleming on his YouTube channel, he stated that he has not managed to win the championship so far because of the format followed in the Cup Series. Further, he revealed that he aims to win a total of 60 races before retiring.
"I've avoided winning the championship somehow uh but they've changed the format so many times that it really comes down to winning One race uh which makes it pretty difficult. The sample size is pretty small uh but you know at this point in my career you know I'm trying to get to 60 wins before I retire." [3:00]
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Denny Hamlin further revealed that consistent driving throughout the season can help him achieve this goal.
"I think we're chipping away you know what I mean so if we can keep on this at least winning three four races per season uh kind of pace I think we're going to be pretty good." [3:22]
As he mentioned, Hamlin has expressed his disregard for the current NASCAR championship format since he feels the final contenders should be chosen on a bigger "sample size."
Denny Hamlin suggests new championship format for NASCAR
The current format in NASCAR involves Playoffs, where 16 drivers are chosen as potential championship contenders based on their wins and championship standings. After the first race of the Playoffs, eight of these drivers are eliminated, leading to another four, and the winner of the final race is chosen as the season champion.
However, there is a major drawback to this as Denny Hamlin mentioned earlier. Because the entire grid participates in these Playoff races, there is a chance that someone who is not in contention for the championship might interrupt a contender's race.
Denny Hamlin told Frank Fleming in the video:
"In any other sport it's one-on-one your team versus the other team. The difference in NASCAR is it's one against three but there's 33 other guys out there that can completely screw up your (race)." (16:58)
The Joe Gibbs driver also suggested a change in the format that provides more fair competition for championship contenders.
"Why don't we have a championship round challenge these drivers at multiple different race tracks. I mean, I don't care if you put a road course in the championship round, at least you're crowning a champion off a larger sample size."
Denny Hamlin has so far won two races this season. Having led 399 laps until now, he stands sixth in the championship standings.
