Sunday’s playoff starter at the “tough” short track at Darlington was a bit too tough for Joe Gibbs Racing fans to handle. While fate snatched away one driver’s chance to win despite acing the early stages of the race, Kyle Larson seized the moment to register his first-ever Southern 500 win to start off the championship battle.

On the other hand JGR veteran, Denny Hamlin had to be content with a middle finish despite dominating the 1.3-mile treacherous short track, leading the pack for 177 out of the 367 laps. Hamlin indeed had the dominant car until everything fell apart for the #11 JGR Camry in the last stage.

Speaking on his popular Action Detrimental podcast, the 42-year-old spoke highly of his friend, Larson. In fact, the veteran’s words revealed his envious side – the bitterness in him about the one (5th win at Darlington) that got away.

Resentful Denny Hamlin lauds Kyle Larson despite his anti-climatic finish at Darlington

Being a seasoned veteran, Denny Hamlin knew the dos and don’ts in a tight technical track like Darlington. The JGR star showed excellent speed, acing both the first 2 stages of the race. Hamlin even held a solid track record at the short track with 4 spectacular wins to his name and for the brief part of the race, it looked like it would be his 5th on Sunday.

However, fate had other plans, he held the lead until the driver felt the left tire was loosening, prompting him to make a quick pit stop in lap 273. And after that, the #11 car never came into the fray, Larson who was in the top 5 saw the opening, and pranced into action utilizing the caution when Ryan Newman spun off the track, seizing the top spot.

From there on the Hendrick Motorsports driver never had to look back as he successfully fended off the challenge from the #45 Toyota of Tyler Reddick to cruise into his first-ever Southern 500 win. With his friend taking home the win, an envious Hamlin praised Larson’s milestone, saying, “It’s gonna be a good advantage for them.” 

While he finished in the middle at the 25th spot, Hamlin tried to hide his emotion as he reflected on the #5 driver’s playoff win. “Yeah. I mean I think, really now he’s got 2 weeks that he is not gonna be pressured so he’s gonna be more free and you know the strategies they call at Kansas and Bristol probably are gonna be a little more aggressive because all they are gonna do now is just try to get more bonus points for the next round and for the rounds after that,” said Hamlin. 

Hamlin also added how a win at the start can give Larson an edge over the rest, saying, “They can spend more time in preparing for rounds of 12 coming up so this is a big you know advantage you can win early and move on.”

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Hamlin’s Darlington venture gone wrong and his crew chief’s remarks

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Everything looked fine for Denny Hamlin and his team up until the final stage of the race. The driver even had a timely pit stop in the 2nd Stage that ticked off things for him. While the stop was smooth, Hamlin felt something was off, reporting to his team that something about his car did not feel right.

This doubt slowly crept into the driver, eventually prompting him to make an extra stop at the 273rd lap of the race. The unscheduled stop got the race leader to the 30th spot and a late tangle sealed the deal for the veteran as he never managed to make up the lost position.

Chris Gabehart reflected on the sudden turn of events in his post-race, revealing the drive’s psyche. According to NASCAR, he said, “One thing I’ll say about Denny, he’s such a professional that even if he’s gutted inside, he’s not gonna let you see it, and he’s well-rounded enough that he knows as much as it sucks, this is just a part of racing.” 

Furthermore, the veteran crew chief also reflected on the unfortunate circumstance as he backed the driver, saying, “There was not anything visible to the naked eye, but the left-rear is orders of magnitude the most sensitive tire on the car to being loose because of the way it gets loaded on track, so if you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it’s not real, because it’s so sensitive.” 

READ MORE: “This Is a Continued Problem”- Denny Hamlin Brutally Slams Michael Jordan’s Star for Jeopardizing Darlington Run