After his victory at World Wide Technology Raceway, Denny Hamlin ordered that his detractors get on the bandwagon or get out of the way. Three weeks later, after a close loss at Kansas Speedway, Hamlin, unusually, was at a loss for words.
Hamlin had the best car of the afternoon, leading 159 of the 273 laps. But late in the race, problems started to pile up. With 50 to go in the scheduled distance, Hamlin reported an issue with his power steering. The problem was not terminal for the No. 11 team, and he was remarkably able to hang on to the lead as the laps ticked away. But when a caution flew on lap 254 for debris and the leaders went to pit road, Hamlin’s team had an issue with the jack, causing the No. 11 to leave the pits in seventh place. With less than 10 laps left in the race, it appeared that Hamlin had lost his shot at victory.
However, Sunday’s race featured a few more twists in the final laps. Another caution for Carson Hocevar’s spin set the field up for an overtime finish. The first attempt ended with another caution when Zane Smith’s car turned on its side and tumbled down the track in turn 4.
The second and final overtime featured a mad scramble for position coming to the white flag, which Hamlin emerged from second place behind Bubba Wallace. Hamlin pulled alongside Wallace on the backstretch, but as they went into turn 3, Hamlin drifted up the track and forced the No. 23 toward the wall. Hamlin completed the pass, but at that point, Chase Elliott, on fresher tires and with much more momentum, surged past Hamlin and crossed the finish line first. Neither Hamlin nor Wallace, who drives for the 23XI Racing team that Hamlin owns, walked away with the victory.
“We had no power steering that last run, and low voltage,” Hamlin said. “Just a lot of things. And just couldn’t, I just, just disappointing, because I don’t think I’ve ever had a car that good to the competition. I wanted it for my dad, I wanted it for everybody. Just wanted it a little too hard.”
Wallace was more cheeky in his postrace remarks.
“Two years ago, I’d probably say something dumb,” Wallace said. “He’s a dumbass for that move, for sure. I don’t care (whether) he’s my boss or not. But we’re going for the win. I hate that we gave it to Chevrolet there. Toyotas were super fast, and [I am] proud to be driving one. I thought it was meant to be, and then it wasn’t.”
Missing out on the win at Kansas puts Wallace in a tough spot. He now finds himself 10th on the playoff grid, 26 below the cut line heading to the last race of the Round of 12. Although, as Wallace noted in his post-race interview, the No. 23 team went into Kansas 27 points below the cutoff, so they did gain a point.
Hamlin is in much better shape at 48 points above the cut line, fourth in the playoff standings. He and the No. 11 team have never been strong at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, earning only one top 10 there in seven starts. Even so, 48 points should be enough of a cushion to get Hamlin to the Round of 8.
What happens next is where things get tough. Hamlin has 36 playoff points in the bank, the most of any driver this year, and could start the next round as the points leader. But the Round of 8 has marked the end of Hamlin’s previous three playoff runs.
Last season, three of Hamlin’s playoff competitors won during the Round of 8, and the No. 11 did not have enough points to advance, even though Hamlin recorded top-10 finishes in all three races. In 2023, the culprit was a 30th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway, caused by a late crash that ruined a promising run for the No. 11 team. Hamlin led 156 laps at Martinsville Speedway the next week but lost to eventual champion Ryan Blaney and was eliminated from the playoffs. And in 2022, it was Ross Chastain’s “Hail Melon” that allowed the No. 1 team to scoop up just enough points to knock Hamlin out of the final round.
This season is made even more complicated by other challenges that threaten to disrupt Hamlin’s championship quest. First, there is the ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR that Hamlin is spearheading through 23XI Racing. The case will not go to trial until the offseason, but nearly a year of legal wrangling and the fate of his race team must be weighing on Hamlin’s mind.
Additionally, Hamlin had to be thinking about Wallace’s points situation when they were fighting for the win last weekend. Wallace was understandably upset about how the race ended, as Hamlin’s last-lap divebomb wound up costing them both the victory. If the No. 23 is eliminated this weekend, Hamlin’s move will be a significant reason why. Tyler Reddick, the other 23XI playoff contender, is in even worse shape, three points behind Wallace and 29 points below the cut. Hamlin has his own obligations as a Joe Gibbs Racing driver, and it is easy to be critical of how he approached the last lap with the benefit of hindsight. Yet he cannot feel good about 23XI’s title chances hanging by a thread.
Speaking of JGR, it is hard to believe that Hamlin’s issues with Ty Gibbs from New Hampshire Motor Speedway are completely resolved. No doubt that JGR did have some meetings with the two drivers behind closed doors, but nobody outside the organization knows the details of what was said, or how Hamlin and Gibbs will race each other going forward. The last thing that Hamlin needs at this point is to be looking over his shoulder for retribution from a teammate. But until it happens, or the season ends with no further issues, it will be a lingering question.
Hamlin may be a professional athlete who has competed in the Cup Series for 20 years, but the distractions that he faces on and off the track are a lot for one person to deal with. You have to wonder how they might impact his pursuit of the championship. To be sure, Hamlin has grown up a lot from his early days in NASCAR, and he is better equipped than ever to handle the demands of being a title contender. Yet every postseason, Hamlin and the No. 11 team have moments where they appear to be the championship favorites, only to run into problems at the worst possible time and come up short of the title. If Hamlin is going to finally hoist the Bill France Cup, he will have to rise above the challenges that are looming over him late in the season.
Bryan began writing for Frontstretch in 2016. He has penned Up to Speed for the past eight years. A lifelong student of auto racing, Bryan is a published author and automotive historian. He is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Southern Kentucky.