Hendrick Motorsport Driver Hinders Denny Hamlin Trying to Hamstring His Dreams of a Championship

For the second race in a row, Joe Gibbs Racing star Denny Hamlin found himself with a chance to potentially win and for the second race in a row, he failed to get the job done. At Darlington, a pit crew error cost Hamlin track position and in Kansas, it was his poor judgment that prevented him from taking the checkered flag.

The #11 driver might make it through to the second round of the playoffs with the points he has accumulated but he would have loved to win at least one of the two races. Kansas perhaps did not feel as bad as Darlington did since Tyler Reddick of Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team won that race and he finished in second place. But why did he fail to win again despite being in a good position earlier on?

HMS Insider Explains Denny Hamlin’s Ultimate Error in Kansas

The answer lies in the final race restart in Kansas. The race had gone into overtime and with just two laps to go, the green flag fell for what would be the final restart. Before the restart, Denny had lined himself up in a good position on the outside lane. Things were looking good for the #11 driver but he then made a crucial error in judgment.

As the cars in front of him pulled away, Hamlin was busy defending his position from those behind him. Had he just stepped on the gas and accelerated forward, maybe the JGR man would have been able to beat Reddick to the finish line.

Maybe Hamlin was wary of the speed of the car behind him because it was a Hendrick Motorsports car which was driven by a former Cup Series champion who has been in fine form this season. At the end of the day, his decision was not able to see him leave Kansas as the victor but at the same time, he was not passed by anyone.

The car that he was defending against, which potentially cost him the win, was the #5 of Kyle Larson, the 2021 Cup Series winner and the winner of the race in Darlington.

Former HMS crew chief Steve Letarte and NASCAR insider Todd Gordon analyzed Hamlin’s final restart and explained why it was a mistake on the #11 driver’s part.

“Denny said in his interview he got caught looking in his mirrors cause right here he looks back and he sees all the way back to this 5 car. And his issue with that is the 5 can jump. Let’s explain to the fans how this works.

So in my opinion, if I roll to the start and I get there 2 miles an hour faster than you and we both accelerate at the same time, our cars are gonna accelerate the same amount but I’m 2 miles an hour faster than you the entire curve, all the way down the front stretch I’m still gaining time. So Denny looks back, sees the 5 car and he starts to drag back to the 5 but the problem is he just loses time,” Letarte said.

Despite losing time, Hamlin was still able to beat everyone else in front of him and fight his way back to second place to hold that position until the end. But ultimately, that is not what people anticipated. On the final restart of the race when there’s only a couple of laps to go and you’re in a position to win the race, nobody expects you to sit back and defend, the idea would be to get on the gas before anyone around you and gain track position.

Read More: “It’s My Fault” – Rick Hendrick’s Legendary Crew Chief Comes Clean on Kyle Larson’s Kansas Disaster

Is the Risk Not Worth the Reward for Hamlin?

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That is exactly the point Todd Gordon made while analyzing Hamlin’s restart. “He’s just dragging back while they launched. The whole anticipation in here is to be to the gas ahead of the guy in front of you, he’s behind him,” he said.

It is pretty obvious that rather than taking the risk and going for the win, Denny Hamlin wanted to keep his track position and finish at least in the top five. The Joe Gibbs Racing man finished in 25th place at Darlington.

Had he stepped on the has and gone for the overtake, it would have been risky. Cars were bunched up quite close all around him and at this stage in the round of 16, he could ill-afford a crash that put him in an extremely difficult situation going into Bristol. Perhaps he just did not feel that the risk was worth the reward.

Regardless, Hamlin finished in a very impressive second place and his points haul has certainly made things a bit easier going into the Bristol race, especially after what happened at Darlington. The JGR man has been one of the best drivers in the playoffs. Maybe Denny will be third-time lucky and clinch that elusive win in the final round of 16 race.

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