Hamlin lays out AMBITIOUS NASCAR playoff plan despite Las Vegas struggle

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin is remaining ambitious in his hunt for a Cup Series championship despite struggling to make much of an impression in Las Vegas this weekend.

With the playoffs round of eight kicking off with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Hamlin was left frustrated with how his race went.

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The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing star finished down the order in 8th and as a result, now sits below the cut line in the playoff standings heading into next weekend.

However, he is not planning to be there for long, retaining big ambitions for the next race and the remainder of the playoffs despite struggling to show the consistency he had earlier in the season in recent weeks.

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Hamlin: Just not a clean day

Reflecting on the South Point 400, Hamlin told NBC Sports: “Just not a clean day. That certainly kind of sums it up. You’ll have that.

"We’ll just do the best we can to to get the best finish. I thought (crew chief) Chris (Gabehart) did a great job trying to get some sort of finish. Once we lost the track position early, he was doing everything he could to try to get it back through some alternate strategy. It goes long there, we fall back to the back. Just part of it."

Despite the above, Hamlin is continuing to target the top spot heading into next weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 400.

"Certainly we’re not running quite as strong as what we were earlier in the year," Hamlin continued.

The #Championship4 picture is coming into focus. pic.twitter.com/nZJo4y7bgU

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"We’re definitely not as clean execution-wise as what we were. Just got to clean it up, go to Homestead, and try to win it.”

Hamlin's current pursuit for playoff glory cannot be helped by the ongoing legal row between 23XI Racing and NASCAR themselves.

Hamlin is a co-owner of 23XI alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan, with the team, along with Front Row Motorsports, recently opting to sue NASCAR and CEO Jim France in an antitrust suit.

The outcome of that lawsuit remains to be seen, however, it could be argued it is an unwanted distraction for Hamlin at the crunch time of the season.

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