“We either crash or we win,” Denny Hamlin proclaimed after his Dover victory earlier this year. Midway stories were rare for the No. 11 driver—when he was not bunking with leaders in the top row, Hamlin was mostly nursing his wounds from a wreck at the rear end of the field. However, the Michigan race was an exception—his fate hung in the balance in the first half, and Hamlin pieced together a decent finish.

The inclement weather clobbered drivers’ pace at the two-mile oval. Practice was cut short, and qualifying was determined on the basis of metrics. So Denny Hamlin faced the consequences and felt pretty remorseful about it after the race.

Bad luck clouds over Denny Hamlin

This weekend marked the second time in a row that Denny Hamlin faced a potential wreck. Everyone remembers Richmond where Austin Dillon right-hooked Hamlin into the wall. This time, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver faced the ravages of Michigan International Speedway. He fell prey to the aero-blocking tendency on the track as he pursued Bubba Wallace and spun out. After that, it was an uphill journey of trying to piece together a decent finish despite the damage.

Denny Hamlin ended the Sunday segment in 16th place, and on Monday, managed to carve his way to a 9th-place finish. In a post-race interview, however, he shared his regrets: “It was bad, it was really, really bad. It was tore up…I mean, he (Chris Gabehart) sent me some pictures overnight that just did not look good…It’s unfortunate man, I hate that I did that to the team and certainly set us back.” Hamlin continued that he harbored a little hope: “I still was optimistic ’cause you know…Chris is gonna make sure he doesn’t give me total Denny Downer information before the race starts.” 

Yet the No. 11 crew chief gave him bad news. “But he says, listen, we’re not gonna get it back where it was, even if we can get it like, somewhat close. After we started there, obviously we were not close. We then had to make adjustments to the car itself, handling-wise, to pick up the second that we did in the second half of that race.” Denny Hamlin is instead savoring the top-ten finish that he could salvage. “So I am gonna run quickly out of here with my 9th.”

After his last win of the season at Dover Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin admitted that he had a ‘do or die’ approach. Before securing his third trophy at Dover, Hamlin had four finishes of 19th or worse, including 30th and 37th consecutive results. The JGR driver managed to flip that approach at Michigan, as he pieced together a middling, decent finish. Yet his 23XI Racing driver soared to success, being motivated to dedicate his win to a lost friend.

Reddick had an invisible hand guiding him

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On August 16th, the motorsports world lost an icon. Scott Bloomquist, a Dirt Late Model legend and Hall of Famer, tragically passed away in a plane crash. The three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Champion was 60, but his legacy left a large hole in some racers’ hearts—including Tyler Reddick. Denny Hamlin’s driver was a longtime family friend of the dirt racer. Following his spectacular win after edging William Byron, Reddick dedicated his victory to the late icon.

Reddick beamed with pride as he proclaimed his dedication on Victory Lane. “The last couple days have been tough, but this really helps. This win goes to him [Bloomquist] and his family and friends, and all that meant a lot to him. It’s always tough when someone you care about passes away. We did a really good job today,” he said of the win. “I think we were the last car on the lead lap starting stage three today so good effort for us.”

Despite his heavy heart due to the tragic loss, Tyler Reddick solidified his position in the march to the playoffs. Now he occupies first place in the point standings. So Reddick poses a mighty threat to his rivals, including team owner Denny Hamlin.