With the win at Pocono, Denny Hamlin claimed three back-to-back wins in the NASCAR Cup Series. He secured five wins in total this season, including one in the NASCAR All-Star race.

However, as per Joe Gibbs Racing's crew chief, Chris Gayle, they are grounded despite all the success. Gayle shared his thoughts on Hamlin's insane form of late and confirmed that the team wants to take one race at a time, and not be "greedy" about it.

"It's unbelievable," Gayle told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "You know, I don't think of it, I was just talking to one of the engineers and I'm like, you know, you don't want to be greedy. You know, you think about these kind of runs in your dreams, right, of being able to win a race, winning stretch, three poles, all the rest."

Hamlin's 2025 season saw a tragic end, where Hamlin fell short in the very last lap and failed to win a championship. But he has come back stronger this season.

Denny Hamlin saw a surge in performance after Joe Gibbs Racing brought in Chris Gayle as his crew chief last year. They promoted Chris Gabehart, Hamlin's previous crew chief, to a different role within the team.

"You just take it one race at a time, right, and you worry about the next practice session, the next qualifying, race changes, strategy. You just take it one piece at a time, and that's what I'm enjoying. I'm enjoying that part of it," Gayle added.

The Pocono victory gave Hamlin a lead over Kyle Busch's winning tally and now stands with 64 victories. Hamlin won six races last season, and five so far (including the NASCAR All-Star).

This goes on to show the impact Gayle had on Hamlin, who is now considered the championship favorite in the Chase.

When Chris Gayle predicted Denny Hamlin to be in title run

Prior to the start of the 2026 season, Chris Gayle put his money on Denny Hamlin and predicted that the No. 11 driver would be a contender for the title.

"Oh, for sure,” Gayle told Motorsport.com in February this year. “I think he'll get there a hundred percent. I have the utmost faith that that'll happen. Obviously yes, he's had a tremendous up-and-down off-season, right? Like it's just remarkable the things he's had to kind of endure and go through."

Fresh from their heartbreak at Phoenix last year, making such a claim needed immense belief and backing by data. Gayle and Hamlin seemed to have that backing now.

After 16 races, Denny Hamlin is in second place with 685 points. He trails his driver, Tyler Reddick from 23XI Racing by 19 points. Ryan Blaney is in third place with 539 points.

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Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit