Overview
- At a Chicagoland Speedway press conference, Denny Hamlin said he now believes a Cup Series championship is within reach because the new 10-race Chase gives drivers more control over the outcome.
- NASCAR replaced the old winner-take-all Championship 4 finale with a 10-race points-based Chase this season to reward steady results across multiple races instead of a single decisive event.
- Hamlin leads the regular-season standings after Sonoma by a slim margin and has four wins this year, a total that is tied for the series lead and underpins his new optimism.
- Hamlin’s change in tone follows several high-profile endings under the old format, including a late caution at Phoenix that denied him a title, which historically made him avoid public championship talk.
- The format change shifts team strategy toward consistency and season-long performance, but drivers still warn that late cautions or restarts in individual races can alter the Chase and remain a risk to title hopes.