For the 2nd time in a row, Joe Gibbs Racing veteran and arguably the best driver to win a championship – Denny Hamlin lost an opportunity to rack a playoff win. Entering Kansas, the 42-year-old had an exceptional track record of 4 wins, most by any active driver but failed to deliver when it mattered the most.

While the 23XI Racing co-owner picked up valuable stage points, finishing 2nd to his own driver Tyler Reddick who looked like he was unstoppable during Sunday’s late restart, Hamlin’s inability to pick off a win in favorable venues has cast a shadow of doubt over his credibility.

As the playoff action heads to Bristol for the finale of the first-rounder, his friend at HMS has secured a spot for the next round with a stellar win at Darlington where Hamlin had an upper hand until it all went wrong.

Denny Hamlin continues to struggle in picking a playoff win

Over the years, veteran driver Denny Hamlin has been lauded and at the same time criticized for being the “best driver to never win a championship.” Despite being in the sport for close to 19 years, a title has long eluded the 42-year-old. Going into the 2023 playoffs with 2 wins at Kansas & Pocono, the veteran hoped for a major turnaround.

But as the playoff extravaganza heads to Bristol, his chances seem bleak, especially seeing how Darlington and Kansas slipped away from his cusp. One other painful fact of the matter is that Hamlin had a clear advantage in both the previous races, with the numbers stacking up to the JGR driver with the number of wins.

Now to make matters worse for Hamlin, his friend Kyle Larson at Hendrick Motorsports secured a playoff berth with a dominant finish at Darlington where Hamlin could only get 25th place. Reflecting on the driver’s inability to land a win, NASCAR pundits, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi got down to business.

Citing the last race at Kansas, Gluck mentioned the late restart that went wrong for the #11. He said, “By the time (Denny) Hamlin cleared everybody and was coming back, I mean coming out of turn 4 it was like he was almost there, like Oh could he get there? But no he was too far back, so that cost him too much time and that’s the race. Hamlin sees another win slip away despite being the dominant car but there two sides of it, right?” 

The Teardown of Kansas exposed the #11 driver’s vice when Gluck pointed out his vulnerability, saying, “If you’re Denny you’re saying, okay I’m trying to get to 60 career wins, I’m trying to win these big races you know, he wants to win, that’s he’s not doing that. Like the last 2 weeks, he has lost these 2 opportunities to win. On the other hand its playoff time and at playoff time you want to be running really well and his team is running really really well.” 

WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin lashes out at Michael Jordan’s driver for ruining his Darlington performance 

Hamlin admits he was “sleeping” on the restart in Kansas

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It was another shocker for JGR and Hamlin fans. The #11 driver slipped on his way twice in a row. While a pit stop fault got the JGR Toyota back in Darlington, he had to be content with a 2nd finish at Kansas.

Though his 23XI Racing’s late restart heroics got the 27-year-old a spot in the round of 10, Hamlin missed the train as he was too focused on Kyle Larson, or should we say his HMS frenemy. Hamlin cleared the air when he admitted his mistake, focusing on the HMS Chevy rather than looking ahead, keeping his eye on the checkered flag.

He said, “The #5 (Kyle Larson) was slanging so much, I was trying to back up to him, I should’ve just focused forward probably you know gave the #45 (Tyler Reddick) an opportunity to get up there in front of us you know just kind of sleeping on the restart, looking in the rearview instead of looking at the front. But hats off to the Yahoo team, Camry TRD team, just another really really fast race car just didn’t need that caution at the end.” 

READ MORE: NASCAR Insider Fuels Denny Hamlin’s Playoff Misery as Scary Kansas Stats Come to Light