Denny Hamlin might have won 3 races earlier this season, but that spree has ended. Atlanta did not do him well and neither did Watkins Glen. Finishing in both races, 24th and 23rd, respectively, he has found himself in the playoff bubble. Now that he is going through a tough time, he has decided to put the blame on someone.
Hamlin brought home a pup earlier this June, and ever since she has been at home, he hasn’t won a race. It all started when his daughter Taylor found Lulu and decided to keep her against her father’s will. Taylor got quite connected to the puppy, and she wants to make her stay. Now the man who believes his adorable furry is why he can’t win has taken things a step ahead. Denny Hamlin has mentioned putting the dog up for adoption, and now he has gone ahead and done it.
Denny Hamlin wants to find Lulu a new home
It has been 20 years that Denny Hamlin has been driving in the Cup Series. He is probably the one who wants the title the most. But looking at how his playoffs run is going, he might just miss the mark to make it to the top 12. At the Watkins Glen race, Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s crew chief, has even mentioned, “You’re a whisker from finishing dead last, not getting off of DVP.”
Now that situations are so dire for him to win the championship, it was decided that Lulu has to go away for a while. It started with his podcast and then moved on to Instagram. Denny Hamlin put up a post on Instagram saying, “Lulu’s in search of a good home for the remainder of my championship run.” This post came after the recording of the Actions Detrimental podcast, where he talks about this in detail.
With the way his recent races are playing out, it feels to the team that Lulu is cursed and that the bad luck that she brings is holding the driver back from winning the playoffs. Wanting to keep Lulu away from home, Hamlin announced on his podcast, “Someone’s got to take that dog. You take it, Austin takes it.” Jared Allen, his co-host, added in to say, “He definitely wants to explore removing the dog off the premises for a week and see what happens.”
Hamlin then announced, “Yeah, she’s up for adoption,” and that’s where the Instagram post came from. The banter continued for a while before they moved on to speak more about The Glen. The bad luck continues and with Bristol up next, there might be a chance for him to redeem himself.
Luckily, Bristol is a track where Hamlin has done well in the past. Last year, it was the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, where he claimed his playoff win. He did the same again this year when the lights went out at Bristol in March. With 2 back-to-back wins at the track, the prospect of winning looks high.
Hamlin has been suffering lately, and it’s not only him. Joe Gibbs Racing is not doing as well as they would like in the playoffs. However, Chris Gabehart has faith in Hamlin’s abilities on the track. In his confidence, at Watkins Glen, Gabehart made a claim, saying, “Six out ain’t going to be enough to hold the 11 back at Bristol.”
via Getty
Last year, Hamlin had a great start to the playoffs; this year it seems the opposite. But there is a chance that he makes up for the way the race in Charlotte or Homestead-Miami went. Now, Denny Hamlin is just 6 points below his teammate Ty Gibbs; what will happen in the next race will determine the top 12.
Considering everything, do you think that Hamlin will survive to fight another round in the playoffs? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
