As usual I'm like surely, SURELY this finally has to be Hamlin's year doesn't it? He's NASCAR's Dani Pedrosa, the guy who's been excelling all his career but never quite won the big title. I used to hate him, but in recent years and listening to his podcast sometimes I like him a lot more. What he went through in the off season, losing his Dad in a house fire, it's seriously impressive how high his performance level has been and I think he's retiring at the end of '27 too, so two more chances to get the elusive title - I'm kinda willing him on these days.
