As NASCAR heads into the mid-season break, Denny Hamlin had a less-than-satisfying race at the Brickyard 400. With only three laps to go, Hamlin and Kyle Busch made contact, which led to both of their races getting ruined. While Denny Hamlin had a DNF, Kyle Busch managed to finish P25. These results are not what the team expected, as the restarts in the race begin to stir up some drama.

After taking out each other, Kyle Busch apologized to his former teammate as they were both fighting for a top 5 finish, only to get sabotaged due to making contact. Following the initial contact between the two cars into turn 3, Busch found himself moving from the bottom of the track to the outside wall. This result was something neither of the team wanted, and after such a taxing race, Hamlin’s crew chief had something to say.

Chris Gabehart reveals his state of mind after the Brickyard 400

Denny Hamlin was running ahead of most of the grid until the unfortunate incident that forced him to retire. The whole team was left disappointed at the result, as Hamlin missed out on a chance to conquer the Brickyard 400 to complete the crown jewel on his racing resume. Having already won the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500, the Brickyard 400 remains a challenge for Hamlin to overcome.

Although he was quite close to winning the race, the incident with Busch pushed him to the back of the grid for the race. While Hamlin has a spot in the playoffs, having such a DNF is not fun for anyone on the team, and his crew chief, Chris Gabehart, had something to say about this.

Taking to X, the crew chief made a post saying, “

Had the winner today. I just couldn’t fight off the ‘guess the magic caution’ crowd to start stage 3. We just needed a bit of green flag racing, and we were home free.” Gabehart explained how he is proud of his team, Joe Gibbs Racing, for all the work they put into the season.