“Take the air away” is what a crew chief commands to keep the trailing car from getting close. That is exactly what Bubba Wallace did in Michigan, although probably without intention. Instead, the trailing car, or Denny Hamlin‘s No. 11 Toyota, got into this aerodynamic mess himself as explained by NBC. Despite starting on the pole for the race, Hamlin was seen losing control of his wheel.

Smoking wrecks seem to be following Hamlin for two weeks in a row. Last weekend, Austin Dillon right-hooked his car to shoot for the victory and also landed himself a penalty. However, this week, Hamlin fell prey to the intricate characteristics of the track itself.

NBC explains the mysterious spin in the best way possible

Known as the fastest racetrack in NASCAR, Michigan International Speedway has its unique quirks. The two-mile oval has 18 degrees of banking through the turns, boasting its width. This leads to high corner speeds at the track, with plenty of grooves for cars to fan out and find speed. This also means that there is a lot of scope for drafting and aeroblocking—a phenomenon unique to superspeedways like Atlanta and Daytona.

The massive draft of the cars can be used to save fuel, a feature we saw in this year’s Daytona 500 race. However, Denny Hamlin could not use it to his advantage at the FireKeepers Casino 400. In a recent NASCAR on NBC video, experts broke down how to get around the Michigan track. “Much like in Daytona and Talladega, the speed is so high here in Michigan, that when the trail car gets directly in the way on the straightaway, they use that weight to pull up. But then when you get to the corner, you have got to get out of this dirty air.”

When Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson were battling for the lead on lap 35, Bubba Wallace zoomed past them. Just eight laps shy of the Stage 1 finish, Hamlin was hot on Wallace’s pursuit—but the massive dirty air spun him out. The experts explained what happened then: “When you get out of that dirty air that drives all the air underneath the car, the downforce gets created and sucks the car into the racetrack. You can do that on the left side of the car, or on the right side. Either way, it makes downforce. The problem is, when you are right behind that car, that’s no man’s land. Good on the straightaway, bad in the corner – that’s exactly what we saw happen with that 11 right there.”

In a 2002 video, some veteran drivers explained what happened to Denny Hamlin. 1989 Cup champion Rusty Wallace laid it down: “When you get behind a car, all of a sudden, you go steering into the corner, and the front end starts sliding on you.” Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson also explained the phenomenon in his youth. “Yeah, I mean, you can be a half-second faster than someone, catch him, and get two or three cars in and you’re stuck.” However, Hamlin had his explanation, and he beat himself up for his mistake.

Hamlin reflected on his mistakes

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Earlier this year at Dover Motor Speedway, dirty air worked in Denny Hamlin’s favor. He used aero-blocking to stop the advances of Kyle Larson, which led to the latter harshly criticizing this maneuver. However, the Michigan fiasco prompted Denny Hamlin to think about his tactics twice. In his hot pursuit for the lead, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver made a hasty move that spun him out in a smoking wreck. Hamlin could gather himself together to reach 16th before the weather delay set in.

Denny Hamlin reflected on the incident, feeling remorseful about his miscalculation. “I don’t know how sensitive the area is that I saw. It’s very, very small. But man, you don’t want to knock any car potential out in these scenarios. Just kicking myself. All these Michigan races, we’re so fast, and I just can’t quite put it all together. Certainly, put us in a bad spot there in Stage 1.” He added another sliver of repentance: “Now I just got a little extra time to think about my sins.”

Evidently, Hamlin would need to apply a better aerodynamic strategy tomorrow. He needs to contend with the other leaders to carve his way back to the front row. However, he is likely to be a great threat as well, as Hamlin holds two wins at the track.