NASCAR desperately needs someone to stop Denny Hamlin.
Not because Hamlin is doing anything wrong. Quite the opposite. The No. 11 team is executing at an absurd level, Toyota has brought rocket ships to the racetrack, and Hamlin just collected his third consecutive Cup Series victory at Pocono after winning at Nashville and Michigan.
The problem is that everyone else seems content to race for second.
As the summer schedule heats up, NASCAR could use a little drama. A rivalry. A challenger. A surprise winner. Anyone willing to make Hamlin sweat for more than a few laps.
Instead, race weekends are beginning to feel like a movie fans have already seen. Practice. Qualifying. Green flag. Hamlin appears in the mirror. Hamlin appears out the windshield. Hamlin parks in Victory Lane.
At this rate, the rest of the garage may want to form a support group.
Maybe Kyle Larson finds another gear. Maybe Ryan Blaney catches fire. Maybe Christopher Bell decides having one dominant Toyota isn’t enough. Somebody, anybody, needs to make this interesting.
Because while greatness is fun to watch, a three-month Denny Hamlin victory tour may not be what the competition had in mind.
The bad news for everyone else? Hamlin looks faster every week.
The worse news? There are still a lot of races left this summer.
