Denny Hamlin can inch closer to his first NASCAR Cup Series championship with a stellar performance in Las Vegas.
Fortunately for Hamlin, his track record, the 1.5-mile oval in 2026, is incredible. Hamlin won the Las Vegas race in the spring and finished no worse than fourth in the middle. That fourth-place finish came at the first Kansas race of the year, and Hamlin took second at Texas and third at Charlotte, Chicagoland, and the second Kansas race.
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Do the math, and Hamlin has a goal average of 2.67 at the 1.5-mile track. That’s three places better than the second-ranked driver on the list, William Byron, whose average clearance sits at 6.3.
Denny Hamlin is in good company
Per NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola, “…his 2.67 average is tied for best with Jimmie Johnson in 2005 and Bobby Labonte in 1999 always for six 1.5 mile seasons. Also, 83% of the runners on those tracks are running within the top five. He just he lives there.”
Neither Labonte nor Johnson have made it to the championships since they dominated the 1.5-mile races, but they are still great company for Hamlin. Interestingly, Labonte and Johnson everyone He won the championship the following season in 2000 and 2006, respectively.
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DeCola also noted that “his (Hamlini’s) eight-race streak of top-five finishes at the 1.5-mile track, marking Kansas last fall, is the longest active streak and Johnson’s 2004-05 streak among some of the best such stretches in NASCAR history.”
So Hamlin also has a chance to pass one of NASCAR’s most legendary drivers. If he keeps up the pace he’s been doing, Hamlin will remain a strong contender in the Chase. Even if Hamlin’s streak ends and he picks up a decent finish with a good stretch of points, he can still call the race a success.
Hamlin holds the momentum in Las Vegas and so does Kyle Larson
Hamlin light years ahead of points leader Kyle Larson at the 1.5-mile track in terms of average finish. However, Larson, whose average clearance of 13.8 in the middle distances, won last Sunday at Kansas. Still, Larson ran into trouble, finishing 34th at Texas and Chicagoland.
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Larson also doesn’t boast five consecutive top-five finishes in middle-of-the-road ovals this season. The closest he came was the first Las Vegas and Kansas races, where he finished seventh and second respectively. Looking to improve consistency, Hamlin holds the edge over Larson.
Hamlin isn’t the only driver bringing the Star Record to Vegas
As before, William Byron is also incredible at this time of the 1.5 mile track. Byron did not win the 1.5 mile intermediate, but did not finish outside the top 10.
While he’s on points, he’s not even counted in Vegas. Byron took third at the first race in Las Vegas and came to a seventh-place finish last week. His final finish came on the 1.5-mile track at Charlotte, when he took ninth.
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Byron will compete, and so will Kyle Larson. But Hamlin has consistently beaten both drivers and the rest of the field. If Hamlin maintains this consistency this weekend, the Chase will be even more interesting.
This article was first published in GRAVIS
After Denny Hamlin brings the famous NASCAR series to Las Vegas for the first time in the weight class.