NASCAR royalty Richard “The King” Petty believes Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is staring down perhaps the best opportunity of his storied Cup Series career to win a championship.

Seven-time champion Petty’s claim came after a visibly emotional Hamlin won the 60th race of his career, the South Point 400, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, despite having only led nine laps in total in a race largely dominated by teammate Chase Briscoe and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.

In the latest edition of Petty Family Racing’s ‘Race Recap,’ the 88-year-old 200-time race-winner said of Hamlin, “He’s had a pretty dang good year. I mean, you win 60 races nowadays, that’s a bunch of races. So his team and him, the whole situation, this is probably his best chance he’s ever had to have a chance at the championship.”

Hamlin’s series-leading sixth win of this season, separating himself from Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen on five, he will now head into the second Round of 8 race at Talladega Superspeedway as the joint 10th winningest driver in Cup Series history.

Tied with former champion Kevin Harvick, Hamlin is now just three wins adrift from Richard Childress Racing’s two-time champion Kyle Busch in ninth.

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And while pushing for 63 could be a stretch this season, it may not be off the cards entirely, with Hamlin having won at each of this season’s three remaining tracks at least twice.

Of course, with his Playoff fate now secured for the time being, Hamlin’s focus can turn to the finale at Phoenix Raceway. But while this three-week wait may play on the nerves of some, at this stage in his career, it seems Hamlin is at peace regardless of what happens in the championship battle, especially knowing that his ailing dad got to watch his landmark victory.

“Truthfully, I don’t get nervous anymore, but I will at some point, it will kick in where it’s like, ‘Is this my last chance to do it?’” Hamlin admitted post-race. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but I just know that I’m going to do it, do the work, and I hope it works out.

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“If it doesn’t, I’m gonna be okay with it. I’ve had a season that far exceeded what I thought it would. But yeah, I mean, it’ll set in. I’ll get nervous, certainly, over the next few weeks about it, but I’m going to be nervous about the things that I control, not the other things.

“You guys have seen it. There’s been weird and crazy things that have kept me from winning a title or advancing to have a chance to, and I’ve said many times, if you get enough chances, eventually the tides will turn, and it’s like, did they start turning today? Maybe.”