Another season, another Playoff disappointment for Denny Hamlin.
Last season it was a famous move by Ross Chastain that saw Hamlin’s Playoff hopes snatched from him. This season, it was Hamlin himself.
Denny Hamlin, who has five wins at Martinsville Speedway, looked in a good position to add a sixth, and win his way into the Championship race at Phoenix. Sunday he led a race high 156 laps and won Stage 1.
But a slow third stage saw Hamlin drop and be forced to try and fight his way to a win. In the end he fell short finishing third and outside the Championship 4.
Hamlin said his issues started a week prior at Homestead when a mechanical issue forced him out of the race.
“The mechanical failure last week with the power steering, that sealed our fate,” he said. “I’m really proud of this whole FedEx Toyota team for showing up today when we really needed to, having probably a mid 50-point day. They did great. They did absolutely great.
“The 12 (Ryan Blaney) car was the best car today, so congrats to them. Hate we’re not in it with our FedEx Camry. Definitely I was happy with the performance we had today. Really all around. Just in the Round of 8 you can’t have one bad week. Unfortunately, mechanical failure takes us from running really well to in the 30s. That’s it.”
Unlike 2021 when he did advance to the Championship 4 and finished third, Hamlin won’t be racing for his first title in the final race of the season in Phoenix.
“I just want to get ready and go try to win next week,” he said. “I still love it so much because every week I feel like I got a shot to win. That’s what fuels my passion, even at my age, to keep doing this, is I’m with the team that I got that gives me such fast cars every week and gives me a chance to continue to pile on those stats before the end of my career. It’s not over by any means. We got a long way to go.
“Really happy about the year in general. I thought substantially faster this year at all racetracks than what we were last year. It’s racing, right? This is the Playoffs. You got a three-race season. The 12 (Ryan Blaney) car showed up this round, right? He deserves to be in that Final 4. The performance they had today was phenomenal. I’m just happy for those guys. One more week.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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