By Cameron Bebeau, Staff Writer

Pocono Raceway has long been one of Denny Hamlin’s best tracks. This weekend, it may also provide him with one of the best opportunities of his career.

Hamlin will enter next weekend’s race at Pocono with a chance to win three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races for the first time. The 45-year-old has won back-to-back Cup races before, doing so once in 2010 and again in 2012, but the third consecutive victory has remained just out of reach.

If there is a track where Hamlin could finally break through, Pocono has a strong case. In 36 Cup Series starts at the 2.5-mile triangle, Hamlin has seven wins, 17 top-five finishes, 24 top-10 finishes and five poles, with his seven victories being his most at any track.

In 2019, Hamlin won at Pocono before finishing third at Watkins Glen International and second at Michigan International Speedway. He followed that stretch with a win at Bristol Motor Speedway. Later that season, he won the playoff race at Phoenix Raceway, finished 10th in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and then opened 2020 by winning the Daytona 500.

There were similar near-misses in 2020, when Hamlin finished second at Michigan, second on the Daytona Road Course before winning at Dover Motor Speedway. More recently, Hamlin won the spring races at Martinsville Speedway and Darlington in 2025, before finishing second at Bristol, leaving him one position short of three consecutive victories yet again.

Now, one week after tying the late Kyle Busch on the Cup Series all-time wins list with his 63rd win, Hamlin heads to Pocono with a chance to take sole possession of ninth place on the all-time wins list while simultaneously becoming just the 26th different driver to win three consecutive Cup Series races.

Following his win at Michigan, Hamlin acknowledged the difficulty of winning three straight. He also made his belief clear that, if there were ever a place for him to pull it off, Pocono may be the one.

“It would be hard, but there’s no better opportunity than I’ve had at any point in my career to win Pocono,” Hamlin said. “You’re going to one of my best tracks. Cars are obviously fast. Me and my team have it going right now. We know what we need every week. Our communication is great.”

That confidence comes after Hamlin said his No. 11 team turned what was initially a “30th-place car” into a race-winning contender at Michigan. Hamlin credited a major adjustment, the track coming to him and the team’s calm approach as key factors in the win.

Now, at the site of his first Cup Series victory, Hamlin has a chance to move ahead of Busch and accomplish something that has eluded him throughout his career.