Denny Hamlin offers surprising reason for lack of drama in Bristol Night Race

Denny Hamlin explained why the second NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway was not as action-packed as previous races. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, the three-time Daytona 500 winner said a good amount of drivers were content with where they were running.

"You had at least 10 drivers in the field that were just happy running where they were at," Hamlin said. "This is the negative part to cut lines, eliminations, things like that."

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Hamlin mentioned drivers like William Byron and Alex Bowman were happy with their position in the race. He also said that when he got to the top three, he was not worried about points because he wanted to finish the race.

"I don't want to cause a caution, I'd love to go win the race, but people don't understand you have to push it," Hamlin revealed. "You have to push every inch, which means getting up closer to the wall. ...You just have to manage the risk a little bit, and I think 10 guys managed the risk to just get through. The 45 (Tyler Reddick), 20th."

Hamlin finished the race fourth, which was enough for him to advance to the round of 12 of the playoffs. Ahead of the Kansas Cup Series race, Hamlin is in sixth place in the standings, meaning he needs to be strong the next three weeks to advance to the round of eight.

How Denny Hamlin can win the Cup Series championship

Hamin is seeking his first Cup Series championship as a driver, and now it looks like he has a shot. On The Teardown podcast , Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic explained how the veteran driver can take home the title.

"They can absolutely win the championship, absolutely. I mean, they could win, they could win at Talladega or Kansas and it would not be a surprise," Bianchi said. "Then, you go into Round Three, they could win at any of those three tracks. They could win at Vegas, Homestead or Martinsville, and they sure as hell can win at Phoenix. They can absolutely win the championship.

"Are they snakebit a little bit? Absolutely. Have they not had the finishes that correspond with their speed? Yes. Are they to the level they were at — the same level they were at earlier in the year? No, they're not. But this still, this team, is still so good, and while consistency is great, and you can point your way to the next round, this team is also good enough to win a race, and if that's what they need to do, I feel like they're going to do it."