NASCAR star Denny Hamlin reveals what's bothering him about 2026 season so far

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin admits he's bothered by the lack of trophies he has added to his collection so far this season.

Despite a heavily disrupted pre-season following a family tragedy and a subsequent shoulder injury he suffered that requires surgery, Hamlin has had a very fast start to the year in the No. 11

Week in, week out so far this season, with the exception of road courses, Hamlin has been there or thereabouts for the victory, and that shows in the statistics.

The No. 11 leads the Cup Series in laps led with 699 - 186 more than his closest competitor on that metric, Kyle Larson, and a staggering 379 more than championship leader Tyler Reddick.

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Denny Hamlin bothered by lack of NASCAR wins in 2026

Despite that, though, Reddick is the man with five victories under his belt so far this season to Hamlin's one (not including the All-Star Race exhibition), and the 23XI star holds a 122-point advantage over his boss through the opening 12 races in the standings.

His latest near-miss came at the Coca Cola 600 on Sunday, where he finished third in a race he would have had a great shot to win had it gone the distance.

Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast following the event, Hamlin admitted there was some frustration regarding his lack of wins given how quick he has been, even if he's not concerned.

“Well, it doesn't worry me,” Hamlin explained. "It just bothers me.

“It doesn't worry me at all. But just bothersome because on an oval we’re just so quick and just not getting trophies.”

Hamlin not planning for top spot in NASCAR standings

The conversation on the podcast then continued to the Cup Series standings. At this stage, Hamlin admits he does not plan on catching Reddick and is instead focused on keeping second place ahead of The Chase beginning in September.

“I'm not planning on getting there,” Hamlin said when asked about catching Reddick. I mean, again, his worst finish is 15th. They've had no issues at all when it comes to really bad finishes. They've overcome the adversity that they have been thrown.

“So I'm not planning on it, and if you look at like where we were at after that five-race stretch, we've scored the same amount of points; it's just when he wins five and I only win one, there's gonna be an offset of points. Until we win more races, it's just not gonna happen.

“I'm more looking at making sure I stay in that position [second],” Hamlin concluded. “We can win the championship from second."