Dejected Denny Hamlin Painfully Concedes Defeat to Rick Hendrick, Moments After Being Robbed by Negligent Teammate

NASCAR’s winningest team, Hendrick Motorsports, reinforced its dominance and justified why it is called so. William Byron scored the 300th win by just leading for 6 laps. The young prodigy and the emerging driver of the team snatched the lead from 23XI Racing‘s Bubba Wallace in the final restart of the race, built upon his momentum in the last leg of the race, and eventually gained success.

However, the playoff positions in the Round of 12 could have painted a different picture had the drivers been able to avert the significant on-track issues, especially the ensuing problem on the pit road, that have often become the source of significant battles and also a decisive factor in the driver’s position on the track. To cite a reference from the race in Texas that jeopardized the final result of the race

Denny Hamlin thrashes his own teammate after conceding defeat

The Texas playoff opening race saw the two 23XI Racing drivers rebound as both made their appearances in the Round of 12 for the first time. While Bubba Wallace ticked off as a pole-sitter, his teammate Tyler Reddick went on to win the first stage of the race. A similar clinical performance was also delivered by their team boss, Denny Hamlin, who ran within the top 5 for most of the laps in the race.

However, the tidings of the race soon changed when the pit roads opened for the refueling of the car along with the changes in the tires, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was plagued with a pit road incident that dwindled his hopes of a favorable finish. The incident occurred in Lap 77 of the race while exiting the pit road and also involved his rookie teammate Ty Gibbs.

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Finding themselves at each other’s heel and being left with no room on either side, Ty Gibbs slammed into the right door of Denny Hamlin’s car, which turned out to be detrimental for Gibbs while Hamlin’s car sustained heavy damage car but compelled him to fall back in position, but he was eventually able to gain back.

Owing to this in his post-race interview with Frontstretch, Hamlin expressed, “It slowed down our car quite a bit. The good news is it didn’t hit a tire, but it just caved in the right so much that made it really slow down the car and then lighten the car up quite a bit. It’s still a top 3 car but certainly not as fast as the 5 [Kyle Larson].

Bubba Wallace heaves his disappointment after Texas’s heartbreak

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It was surely painful for Denny Hamlin to lose out on a position, given his present racing momentum in the season. It was equally, if not more disheartening, for Hamlin’s co-owned team driver, Bubba Wallace. Although he led most of the laps in the race, he failed to capitalize on the final restart of the race.

In the post-race interview, Wallace expressed, “Third time, I fooled myself starting on top. These guys gave me the right information. “[Briscoe] was tight and he sent it off in there. Wasn’t going to stick, but that’s what he’s going to do. We’re racing for a win. I just hate it. I should have just kept my line into (Turn) 3 and forced William to get tight. But we’re so vulnerable in these cars, right? Just upset with myself.”

“You’ve just got to process things slower. I feel like I’ve made a massive improvement in that, processing things a little bit better, but when it comes down to crunch time, you have to keep it all in check. The best restarter in the game gives it up on a restart. Funny how that works. We grinded, and came out with a good solid point today. Appreciate everybody’s support and effort, and we’ll go on to Talladega.

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With that being said, fans with bated breath await the race in Talladega, given its superspeedway status and the expectations of wreck carnage. However, the question is: who shall clinch the victory next weekend? Will it be Kyle Busch, also the defending champion, or a new driver?