Denny Hamlin has been having a dominant run over the last few races. This has raised eyebrows among some NASCAR fans, who have questioned whether his recent success has just come from strong execution or if there is some unfair advantage he has.

The No. 11 has had an incredible run since the All-Star race earlier in May. He has now managed to win three consecutive races since Nashville, but the biggest talking point was when he won at Michigan with a huge gap of 11.11 seconds to the rest of the field.

After Michigan, Hamlin had silenced critics who flung accusations about his car being "cheated-up" by saying that it only fueled him to dominate more. Moreover, he addressed the topic again after winning at Pocono.

While recapping the race on his "Actions Detrimental" podcast, when he was asked if his JGR Toyota squad has an advantage over rivals, he replied:

"No, the conditions are different, but we're the same speed we were last year. Our lap time, our average lap time, was within a couple of hundredths. Actually slower, a little bit slower this year. So, I don't know, man. The Toyotas in general are really got it clicking right now, but it ain't unfair. We started this race at the same time."

Hamlin further revealed that the Toyota camp has managed to optimize their cars and engines as they figured out what works for them. 

"Everyone had the same opportunity, and you know, this is a product of a lot of hard work from a lot of people to get to this point. This is what we strive for. Toyota right now has got it figured out better than the rest of them. And it ain't because of an unfair advantage. It's a fair advantage that was earned through hard work."

At Pocono, Hamlin executed a flawless race.  He started the 400-mile race at the "Tricky Triangle" from the pole and went on to secure his eighth career win at the track.

How Denny Hamlin Shut Down Cheating Speculation After Michigan

After an 11.11-second win over Erik Jones at Michigan, the largest win margin of Denny Hamlin's career, the JGR driver was accused of cheating. The allegations began swirling as Hamlin, who sat in second place behind Tyler Reddick with a triple-digit point gap, slowly began eating away at the points.

While the skeptics kept on speculating about the legitimacy of the car, Hamlin, on his podcast, said:

"What I love is they don’t know what they’re doing. When I look and (they say), 'That damn car’s cheated up. There’s no way.' Y’all are making me believe that I’m doing things that you think are impossible. That is awesome, and it’s making me more confident, so I love it."

As Denny Hamlin continues to put up dominant performances, the chatter surrounding JGR’s newfound pace is unlikely to fade away anytime soon. However, the upcoming two races are at road/street courses, which is Hamlin's kryptonite.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak