Whilst all eyes were on the #5Chevy Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsport’s 40th anniversary, Denny Hamlin might just have rained on Kyle Larson’s parade at Martinsville. After Kyle Larson bagged pole position just milliseconds ahead of Bubba Wallace for the Cook Out 400, the pressure was higher than ever for the #5 driver to bring home an iconic win for Rick Hendrick on the historic day.

Unfortunately, Larson’s #5 is falling short of the competition, with Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace quickly usurping the lead from the HMS star. Adding to his misery, Hamlin rose the ranks from his 11th-place grid position, overtaking Larson and every other frontrunner at the end of the second stage. With the pressure even higher for Larson as he loses out on vital track position, the #5 accepted defeat rather nonchalantly against the #11 JGR driver.

Denny Hamlin unravels Kyle Larson’s golden weekend at Martinsville

Heading into the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville, Kyle Larson had all the odds working for him. At a track where Larson himself expressed the importance of qualifying well, the #5 was perfectly placed for the win after bringing home pole position. Unfortunately, Larson’s #5 began to drop back as the leader (then Joey Logano) caught up to the backmarkers. This allowed Denny Hamlin to charge up the inside of the top five, making his way past Larson and Logano to win the second stage.

Reflecting on the sudden change in pace, Larson felt the JGR Camrys and the HMS Chevys were on par. But rather shockingly, the #5 driver felt Hamlin had the upper hand with short-track racing.

Veteran insider Dustin Long shared in a tweet, “Kyle Larson, who finished stage 2 in 3rd to Denny Hamlin, says on the radio at end of the stage 2: “My car is fine. … we’re all pretty much the same. Denny is better. He’s got this stuff figured out better than me. I feel like our cars match each other up here.”

At the end of Stage 2, Larson was down in third and eventually got overtaken by his teammate, Chase Elliott, as well. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin was cruising away in the lead before the #9 HMS driver caught up to him and pulled away with a 1.5-second gap. As of lap 233 of 400, the #5 HMS of Larson has fallen back to 4th behind Bubba Wallace. In a shocking turn of events, Chase Elliott is now the lead HMS driver aiming to bring home a historic Grandfather Clock for Rick Hendrick.

This is a developing story.