Recent Trends Suggest Denny Hamlin’s Chase Dreams Aren’t Dashed Yet
After a disappointing 37th-place finish (due to a faulty fuel probe) last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin currently finds himself 13th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase standings with one race remaining in the Challenger Round. That’s six points shy of automatically advancing to the Contender Round in the Chase for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
But if recent trends are on Denny’s side, his chances of sneaking into the Top 12 are pretty good. As noted by Jordan McAbee in his prediction column last week, Denny has been alternating between finishes inside the Top 10 and results outside the Top 20 over the last two months or so.
In other words, he may very well be due for a Top 10 finish this week in the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, which may be enough to get him into the Top 12 in points. Of course, a win would automatically advance him to the Contender Round, as well. Denny finished 5th (after starting 7th) in the Dover race back on June 1.
