How Denny Hamlin became the kryptonite of NASCAR's most talented driver

NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.

Since a 10-win season propelled him to a NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2021, Kyle Larson has rightfully been revered as one of the best racecar drivers in the world.

A 24-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, Larson also has 15 wins in the Xfinity Series, three in the Truck Series and is a two-time winner of the Chili Bowl nationals — one of the most prestigious dirt races in the world. This year, he will attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, and if he makes it, will attempt to race in both the 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same evening.

For all his accomplishments in racing, there seems to be one man Larson can’t beat: Denny Hamlin.

Six times in their NASCAR Cup Series careers, Hamlin and Larson have finished 1-2, including Sunday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway. That doesn’t include last summer’s race at Pocono, where Hamlin shoved Larson wide on the exit of turn one, taking him out of contention for the win.

Aero-blocking may have played a hand in Hamlin’s win at Dover, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that he has always come out on top in the battles between him and Larson.

The pair’s first two 1-2 finishes were rather uneventful, but the third, occurring in the 2021 Southern 500 at Darlington, was a show for the ages, with Larson pulling a “video-game move” in the final corner.

At Kansas in the spring of 2023, Larson held a slight lead on the final lap before being tapped by Hamlin and sent into the backstretch wall, giving way to Hamlin’s first win of 2023.

Hamlin drove away from Larson in the Bristol night race last fall, but Sunday’s race at Dover was a fantastic chess match between two of the best drivers that NASCAR has to offer, aero-blocking aside.

There’s nobody better at moving around the racetrack than Larson, and there’s nobody better at taking a competitor’s preferred line away than Hamlin. Paired together, these drivers put on a show every time they battle for a win. The problem for Larson is that he’s never the member of the cast who gets a standing ovation in Victory Lane.

Hamlin may still be searching for that elusive championship in his 19th Cup Series season, but he has a leg up on the most talented driver in the series. If it’s Hamlin vs. Larson for the championship at Phoenix, Hamlin may be in the catbird’s seat.

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