With that in mind, consider the end of the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. With three laps to go, a tire went flat as the result of a team pushing it too far (Story No. 4), which erased the championship lead of the person related to Stories No. 1 and 3, then highlighted Story No. 2 in one of the most glaring ways possible<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hamlin\u2019s head must still be swirling<\/a> with how it all unfolded. On his \u201cActions Detrimental\u201d podcast, he has often used his platform to advocate for a different playoff format and loudly pushed Goodyear to develop tires that wear more. Then, in the final edition of the one-race championship, all four title contenders\u2019 teams got ultra aggressive on their setups and air pressures, leading to at least one tire failure for each of them.<\/p>\n The last one, from William Byron, caused a caution that ruined Hamlin\u2019s championship and instead opened the door for Kyle Larson \u2014 who had two flat tires during the race \u2014 to take a strategy gamble and win the championship instead in an out-of-nowhere comeback<\/a>.<\/p>\n That only intensified the playoff conversation, which will come to a head sometime during this offseason when NASCAR announces the new format. The other storylines will also carry on, as the antitrust lawsuit is scheduled to begin Dec. 1 \u2014 unless both sides settle in the next few weeks \u2014 and Goodyear has already started testing tires for next year\u2019s campaign (with more tests on the books before the 2026 season takes the green flag in February).<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Hamlin, who has suddenly become a sympathetic figure for many in the fan base \u2014 but still needs to make the final determination on whether he returns for another season. If he returns, he will be the most prominent character again.<\/p>\n Rarely is the outcome of a season so connected to each of the major storylines, but it almost felt poetic in this case. Whether that poem was an epic tragedy or a triumph remains open to interpretation.<\/p>\n Hamlin\u2019s heartbreak<\/p>\n As of this writing early Monday morning, Hamlin has yet to record the post-Phoenix edition of his podcast. Though he put on a brave face to power through the awards ceremony on Tuesday, even lingering for much of the industry after-party with his fianc\u00e9e and oldest daughter, Hamlin made it clear he still needed time to process the fallout from the season finale.<\/p>\n This type of pain is something only a select few drivers can understand. It\u2019s a small and unenviable club of competitors who saw their worthy championship hopes slip from within their grasp in the final race \u2014 or, even worse, the final laps.<\/p>\n Carl Edwards is perhaps the flagship member of this club, and it drove him to an early retirement after his crushing 2016 defeat \u2014 which was set up in part by a phantom debris caution while he was cruising to the win.<\/p>\n In Edwards\u2019 Hall of Fame<\/a> speech this year, he noted that even though he lost the title that night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it was one of the best races he\u2019d ever run and said, \u201cI knew with about 20 laps to go in that race what it felt like to have a championship team and run a championship race.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Denny Hamlin lost his lead \u2014 and eventually, his long-awaited title \u2014 after a late caution in the championship race. (James Gilbert \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Hamlin cited Edwards\u2019 comments in his pre-awards interview Tuesday, saying he could relate to what Edwards meant. And in that same conversation, Hamlin said while he planned to race in 2026, he would \u201cneed some time\u201d to think it through<\/a> before deciding whether to continue his career.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point, there\u2019s just absolutely no way that I would even \u2014 I don\u2019t even think about race cars right now,\u201d Hamlin said.<\/p>\n Having covered the moments after Edwards\u2019 defeat straight through to his retirement months later, there are some undeniable parallels here. We don\u2019t know the depths of how much this has impacted Hamlin, and it\u2019s not impossible he could decide to stop racing now.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s one massive difference that could keep Hamlin around: The championship format is changing. If NASCAR was continuing with the one-race championship next season, it would be much easier to picture Hamlin walking away after doing everything he was asked to do in this format and still coming up short.<\/p>\n The increased sample size of races to decide the championship \u2014 whether that\u2019s four, 10 or 36 \u2014 will give him a much better chance of controlling his own fate. And that might be enough to lure him back after he gets some distance from Phoenix.<\/p>\n Larson most popular?<\/p>\n There seem to be two groups of people in NASCAR fandom: Chase Elliott fans, and those who can\u2019t fathom how the dry, low-key Elliott keeps winning NASCAR\u2019s Most Popular Driver Award.<\/p>\n Elliott made it eight in a row last week, now such a foregone conclusion that he need not show up for the awards ceremony to accept the honor (he posted a video acceptance speech on social media shortly after the award was announced).<\/p>\n But one star driver with a sizable fan base is now speaking out about how much he wants to win the award. During his championship media tour, Larson appeared on Barstool Sports\u2019 Rubbin\u2019 is Racing podcast<\/a> and spoke about the Most Popular Driver Award with a genuine earnestness.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would mean so much,\u201d Larson said. \u201cIt\u2019s weird saying that because it\u2019s such an awkward thing, but I would love to win the Most Popular Driver Award some day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels so far out from me winning \u2014 or anybody winning it (but Elliott) \u2014 that if I won it, I would be like \u2018Holy s\u2014, that\u2019s incredible.\u2019 It would be such a good feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n Larson said he felt his fan base was \u201cevery bit as large as his \u2014 or bigger,\u201d but figured maybe Elliott\u2019s fans just vote more.<\/p>\n![\"Denny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762789270_483_GettyImages-2244692121-scaled.jpg\")
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