The pain of NASCAR Cup Series playoff heartbreak still cuts deep for Denny Hamlin, and more than two weeks on there is still one place he cannot go.

The 44-year-old great of the sport remains without that elusive championship despite a terrific season which saw him hit 60 Cup Series wins in a glittering career.

For so long during the playoffs it seemed like the Joe Gibbs Racing star would finally win it all in 2025, right up to the closing laps of the Championship race in Phoenix on Sunday November 2.

Hamlin was dominant for just about all of a gripping race, leading for more than 200 laps, right up to the final caution and restart. But then a decision to pit for four new tires, while most of his rivals added only two, left him suddenly playing catchup.

It was a fateful moment which allowed Hendrick Motorsports superstar Kyle Larson to get ahead of Denny to claim the second championship of his career.

The aftermath for Hamlin was agonizing, made even worse by the knowledge that his terminally ill father Dennis will likely now never see him win a title. Too sick to be on hand in Phoenix, Dennis watched the race on TV back home.

Hamlin on playoff agony, and how his Dad handled it

Hamlin said his Dad was supportive as the pair spoke after the dust had settled in Arizona. Even now it is clearly a struggle for Denny to find the words to talk about it.

Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, he revealed: “He was fine, you know, very supportive. He was, he didn’t like the outcome. But I think he was still okay with the result. You know what I mean?

“He said to me, just like a lot of people say, ‘I don’t know what to say, what am I supposed to say’. He’s like ‘you had it, you did it, you just don’t have the trophy, that’s it’.”

The one place Denny still cannot go

There is a video of Hamlin Snr watching the conclusion of the race, but Denny has not seen it yet. He will not be seeing it in the future either - for now it is one place he still cannot go, 16 days on from Phoenix.

“I’ve asked to not see it. There is a video from him and Scotty watching the race. Jordan [Fish, Denny’s partner] saw it but I’ve told her I’d prefer not to.”