Coming out of the Daytona 500, drivers Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe find themselves sitting 30th or worse in the points standings. While it’s far too early to panic for three of the best drivers in the sport, Hamlin does believe we are only a few weeks away from when drivers should really start to be worried.
On the first Actions Detrimental episode of the season, Hamlin said that he thinks Cup Series drivers will start to be concerned about where they sit on the points leaderboard after about five to six races.
Related: NASCAR Points Standings after Daytona 500
“Five to six races in, five or six in. I think that’s probably the right number.”
Denny Hamlin on at what point in season NASCAR drivers will start to worry about points totals
For comparison, Chase Briscoe (2 points), Denny Hamlin (8 points), and Christopher Bell (9 points) have fewer points combined than Cody Ware (20 points) in 21st place. Two members of the 2025 Championship 4—Hamlin and Briscoe—are 50-plus points behind Tyler Reddick in first and well behind Noah Gragson (27 points) for the 16th and final playoff spot.
The days of win-and-in are gone, so a slow start to the season can be very damaging to a top driver’s playoff hopes. Even if the lead can be overcome over the stretch of the regular season, the new 10-race Chase format gives the top three drivers in the regular season a massive points advantage over the rest of the field.
Read More: NASCAR Power Rankings after Daytona
Now, realistically, we probably will not be seeing the likes of Zane Smith (41 points), Ricky Stenhouse Jr (39 points), Riley Herbst (35 points), and Daniel Suarez (35 points) in the 16-driver playoff field instead of Bell, Hamlin, and Briscoe. A return to normalcy in the standings could come in the next three to four races.
With that said, the upcoming stretch on the schedule is critical for some of the top Cup Series drivers. Performing well at the looming tracks—EchoPark Speedway, COTA, Phoenix Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Darlington Raceway—is crucial for the best drivers to have a shot at winning the championship later this year.
What could happen is that after the weekend off in the first week of April, following the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway–a few notable drivers and teams could be in deep enough of a hole that winning the Cup Series championship no longer becomes a realistic outcome. A few drivers could even find themselves now in a real battle with the likes of Carson Hocevar, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Stenhouse Jr. for those final spots in the 10-race chase.
Related: Denny Hamlin Predicts Who Wins the NASCAR Championship in 2026
