Joey Logano was one of the fastest cars all evening and everyone in the stands had thought that this Daytona 500 belonged to him. Yet he ended up wrecking and losing momentum, which caught Ryan Blaney in the haywire as well. The fight for the best then transferred to Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric.

The dreams for a fourth Daytona win looked real for Hamlin, however soon it got blurry. While entering overtime in the front row, it seemed poised for the #11 to take home the Harley J. Earl trophy yet again. However, an incident on turn three ended all his hopes.

Hamlin didn’t quite understand what happened 

Denny Hamlin was sure that NASCAR would come up with a caution flag after Riley Hebrst spun himself through the infield grass. NASCAR had thrown a caution to end the Xfinity Series race just a day earlier. But the caution never came. Instead, Herbst regained control, and the race continued at full throttle. As desperate drivers made their final pushes, Hamlin found himself in a battle with Austin Cindric. This is when Cole Custer clipped his car and triggered a massive wreck. William Byron slipped through the chaos to claim his second consecutive Daytona 500 win. This left Hamlin with a disappointing 24th-place finish.

Hamlin later admitted that he expected the caution but quickly refocused on trying to secure the win. He said, “I need to see the other wrecks, but I knew they were wrecking. We were surprised that they kept going. Once I realized that they are not gonna throw yellow, all I was focused on then was let me get a run on this 2 (Austin Cindric), get beside them, and win this race. And then apparently, I think they went green all the way to the checkered right. So I mean I was destroyed.”

Denny Hamlin was surprised the caution didn’t come out on the final lap and the race finished under green despite a couple of wrecks. ⁦@NASCARONFOX⁩ pic.twitter.com/10M8JPGNeR

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 17, 2025

Although Custer had something to do with the wreck, Hamlin did not blame him. However, what stings most for him is the inconsistency in NASCAR’s officiating. Denny Hamlin added, “They’ll react. When they feel like if they get trashed, socially, on a call, they will over-go the other way on the next one.” Hamlin takes a subtle dig at NASCAR here, alluding to the change in the way they dealt with the Damaged Vehicle Police last season. After backlash for not letting Josh Berry race due to flat tires in Kansas in 2024, they towed Chase Elliott back to the pit road in Talladega, highlighting their inconsistencies. 

While Hamlin is left disappointed with the result, a silver lining would be his 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick securing a second-place finish after avoiding the carnage ahead of him. Now the focus shifts to Atlanta, where Hamlin would hope to clinch a victory and lock himself into the 2025 playoffs nice and early. However, he first has to get over his Next-Gen car hump at superspeedways.

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Hamlin opens up on his struggles with the Next Gen Car

While the dream to win the fourth Daytona 500 might not have materialized, the good news is that the entire season lies ahead. Before the inception of the Next Gen cars, Denny Hamlin was quite dominant on tracks like Daytona from 2016 to 2021. He had won three Daytona 500 races and also ended up claiming top five positions in two races. However, since 2022, Hamlin has struggled at Daytona.

Speaking of how it is the Next Gen cars that have played a major role in his slide down, Hamlin said, “They talk about my three wins, but I’ve run here 40 times. I’m like three for 40 and yet they’re like, man, you’re so good at this track, I’m like I’ve lost like 37 times… The stats don’t lie. It’s that in the next-gen era, it’s been horrendous. The finishes have been bad, and I think it’s because of… next gen with fuel saving and all that stuff like that’s not my forte and I’ve got to learn to be better at it.” From 2022 to 2025, Hamlin’s finishes at the Daytona 500 read: 37, 17, 19, and 24. Shocking returns for a three-time winner of the race.

At superspeedways, Hamlin has been extremely confident with drafting skills and last-lap passes. However, the new method of fuel saving which is a prerequisite for Next Gen cars, doesn’t sit well with him. Along with Daytona, Hamlin has shown a major struggle at Talladega as well, with just two top-5 finishes since 2022, in contrast to his two wins and nine top-5 finishes before the Next-Gen era.

Do you think Denny Hamlin can overcome his Next-Gen car woes in 2025?