Denny Hamlin’s “Irrational Confidence” at Texas Is What Was Detrimental to His Finish

Denny Hamlin probably should have settled for a runner-up finish in last Sunday’s race at the Texas Motor Speedway. In a race that had ensued so much chaos and drama, a P2 finish was indeed a good result for the JGR driver. Battling against Chase Elliott for the win with just two laps to go, passing was practically impossible against the driver, who had been aggressive throughout the race.

However, banking on his good-running race car and a hunger for a third win of the season, Denny Hamlin tried his luck. And well, we all know how that one ended for him. Having pushed his car to the edge, he ended up spinning out and crashing into the wall. Perhaps the opportunity was too good for Hamlin to pass, and with his confidence running high, he just could not help but have a go at it.

Denny Hamlin blames the long caution laps for his unfortunate end in Texas

A total of 16 cautions were flagged, along with six DNFs, so it’s fair to say Texas did live up to its expectations. While the restarts did help a lot of drivers gain track position, in Hamlin’s case, the late caution laps did help his cause in gaining the edge against Elliott. Thus forcing his hand to try his luck as early as possible with just two laps to go.

Speaking on his podcast show, Actions Detrimental, he explained, “I did if they didn’t run so many f**king laps under caution… I think if I have two or three laps, if he clears me, if he controls the restart clears me if I have two or three laps, I’ll get back around him. I mean, that’s my irrational confidence, but that’s what I think will happen. When we go into green-white-checkered, it’s all about who can clear first. Whoever clears first is going to win the race.”

So far this season, the No. 11 JGR Toyota Camry is arguably one of the top three fastest cars on the field. And this is what fueled Hamlin to push the boundaries and contest for the win last Sunday. “But damn, two weeks in a row of not getting the finish we deserve and this one’s on me for sure. In hindsight, yeah, I should have took second but damn, I mean, I just want to win; the extra five bonus points were just worth it to me, and the extra sticker on the side of that car is worth it to me.”

The 43-year-old even argued that NASCAR intentionally staged the finish with a caution that was flagged with 8 laps to go in the race.

Hamlin questions NASCAR’s intention

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With the race reaching its climax, every driver was in pursuit of a better finish, and with the constant bumping and banging, there was only one outcome: multiple cautions. However, the amount of time spent running laps under caution was suspicious, according to Hamlin. On his late restart, a caution that was flagged with 8 to go came down to just 2 to finish the race. Moreover, there was no safety car or debris on the track that led to running laps under caution.

Jared Allen wanted to get Hamlin’s view on the same, and he sure didn’t hold any punches in calling out the unwanted caution runs. “No question, we burned too many laps under caution. I mean, there were no safety vehicles on the track. They didn’t open pit road, I don’t know what they were doing other than just winding laps, maybe they were under commercial? Damn it, when the track is clear and it’s ready to race, you put out one to go, and they didn’t do that,” Hamlin replied.

Not only did Denny Hamlin lose out on the win in Texas, but he also missed out on first place in the standings. He currently sits third after a P30 finish, while Elliott’s win pushed him to 4th.