While many had Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team penciled in on the bottom four of their NASCAR Cup Series Playoff brackets heading into the Round of 16, there are three pretty unexpected names (Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Martin Truex Jr.) at the bottom of the Playoff standings heading into Saturday night’s Playoff elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
None of the names on the list is more shocking than Denny Hamlin, who for the majority of the season had been regarded as one of the top threats for the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
In a five-race stretch from Dover Motor Speedway in May and World Wide Technology Raceway in June, Hamlin had recorded five consecutive top-five finishes, a string which started with his third win of the 2024 season in the Wurth 400.
However, in the 13 races since, the wheels have dramatically fallen off for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver and his team. After an L2-Level penalty was issued to the driver and team for an engine inspection rules violation, combined with some lackluster results down the stretch, the once bonafide championship contenders limped their way into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
After finishes of 24th and 23rd in the opening two events of the Round of 16 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Hamlin enters Bristol Motor Speedway six points outside of the Playoffs cutline. As a result, Hamlin and his crew chief Chris Gabehart are looking for anything to turn their fortunes around. Anything, including Hamlin getting rid of his recently adopted dog named Lulu.
“[Gabehart] definitely wants to explore removing the dog off the premises for one week and see what happens,” Hamlin said on this week’s Actions Detrimental Podcast.
While Hamlin says Gabehart isn’t usually a believer in luck, charms, or anything of that nature, even the stoic crew chief has become convinced Hamlin and the No. 11 team have some bad juju.
“He doesn’t believe in luck a whole lot,” Hamlin said of Gabehart. “He believes in being prepared and things like that, and I agree with him. But holy cow, the results are not good with Lulu so far.”
Maybe there is something to the Lulu jinx. In the 15 races before Hamlin and his family brought Lulu into their home, the driver had piled on three wins, had an average finish of 11.47, and was in the hunt for the Regular Season championship.
In the first race with Lulu, Hamlin had an engine failure on Lap 2 at Sonoma Raceway, where he finished last. Over the entirety of the 13-race stretch with Lulu, Hamlin has an average finish of 20.38, and his Playoff hopes are in danger of being potentially KOed by an unlucky K-9.
As he heads into a track — Bristol Motor Speedway — where he has won his last two times out, Hamlin needs a solid effort on Saturday night more than ever. And as race day closes in, Hamlin is seemingly seeking a new temporary home for Lulu through the remainder of his NASCAR Cup Series Playoff run.
“Lulu is in search of a good home for the remainder of my championship run,” Hamlin posted on X on Monday afternoon with a photo of Lulu in a box marked ‘Free Dog’.
Lulu is in search of a good home for the remainder of my championship run https://t.co/BU4mdC9kxN pic.twitter.com/L6m8NTCOty
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 16, 2024
While Lulu has brought the Hamlin family a lot of joy in the house, I believe they will all collectively be just fine if Lulu has to endure an eight-week vacation in another home as that will mean Hamlin has fought his way to another Championship 4 appearance.
To see if Hamlin can advance to the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, tune into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol on Saturday, September 21. That race will be televised on USA Network beginning at 7 PM ET.
One Response
I really can’t believe you want to blame your dog. A dog is great luck and loaded with positive energy. I think you need to find out what your crew chief is doing to jinx you. Make everyone in your crew buy new underwater a specific color and matching socks. Start from the ground up. Leave Lulu alone ! If she’s a rescue she’s already been through enough !