Sunday’s Cup Series playoff race in Martinsville raised a question in everyone’s minds. What went wrong with Denny Hamlin? The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran was named the frontrunner to win the championship by many. A dominant display in the Round of 16 convinced a lot of people about his chances at the same time. However, as we approach the season finale at Phoenix, the #11 Camry won’t be among the eligible cars to race for the driver’s championship.

Hamlin was welcomed to Martinsville with jeers and boos from the crowd. But NASCAR’s ‘villain’ did not let that affect him in the slightest as he went on to win Stage 1 and finished Stage 2 in P2. But alas, the third stage unveiled a series of hindrances for him, pushing him back to P11.

Unable to reach race leader Ryan Blaney, Hamlin finally settled for a P3 finish and bowed out. Some termed the turn of events unfortunate, but the #11 team’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart, was not one of them.

Jeff Burton dismisses claims of Denny Hamlin having the best car at Martinsville

Hamlin has experienced a noticeable dip in form. Comparing his performances throughout the postseason, the quality of results has only deteriorated. However, it was only suitable to consider the odds of Hamlin winning in Martinsville. With his previous record and performance until the race’s final restart in the 273rd lap, he indeed made people believe he was going to Phoenix on the back of a win.

Yet, former NASCAR driver Jeff Burton needed to be convinced that the Camry was good enough to beat Blaney’s #12 Mustang. Discussing the situation on NASCAR America Motor Mouths alongside Steve Letarte and Marty Snider, Burton claimed, “Obviously, you could have won. You could have gotten yourself in, and by winning a race they did not have in my eyes, he didn’t have a car good enough to win yesterday.”

Blaney and Hamlin pitted for a four-tire change simultaneously after most of the cars on the grid had already pitted. But Joey Logano and Ty Gibbs were involved in an accident that collected multiple vehicles in a pile-up as collateral damage and brought out the caution flag. This put Hamlin in a spot of bother as he began climbing back up to the front row after coming out of the pit lane.

Burton then continued his statement, conveying that even at Homestead, if not for the mechanical failure, Hamlin wouldn’t have won the race.

“They had a very good car but not as good as Blaney. They did not have, in my eyes, a winning car before they had the trouble at Homestead Miami. The mechanical issue quite simply did put them out, and that’s probably maybe something they had nothing to do with. It could have been something that team didn’t actually make a decision about. That’s hard to take.”

Watch This Story: Denny Hamlin from Underdog to Champion?

As for Hamlin, who led 156 laps on Sunday, more than any other driver, the loss was a tough pill to swallow. It reminded him of the Round of 16 races in Kansas when he finished behind Tyler Reddick after another late restart in overtime.

Burton contradicts Hamlin’s crew chief, blames ‘dumb luck’

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Following Hamlin’s elimination, crew chief Gabehart said that the vehicle’s failure in homestead was the primary reason behind their ousting. The pressure of a do-or-die situation got the better of him. Gabehart also refused to blame it on the unfortunate circumstances presented to the team, as he said, “It’s not luck. You make your own luck.”

“The things that happened last week, you guys are never going to know the details about it but I do. Ultimately, theres no luck in that. Luck is for weak people, the way I truly view it now.” However, Burton believes that luck does play a significant role here.

Hamlin might not have had the best car and fast enough to beat Blaney, but the fact that the Ty Gibbs wreck impeded Hamlin is undeniable. Burton emphasizes the same as he said, “Clearly there’s an opportunity by winning a race to get yourself in. They ran well enough. It wasn’t about speed; it just wasn’t. They just had some bad brakes, and I think that’s just really where it boils down to.”

“I hate saying that because you know you have to control things. You have to make things happen. If you don’t, no one will, but there is luck involved in racing. I honestly feel like clearly a mistake was made by somebody or just some dumb luck with a piece of rubber flying up and knocking the belt off or something. Who knows what happened, but in their case, I think they can honestly look at themselves and say they brought a good fight to the playoffs. They did most of everything they needed to do right to get themselves to Phoenix. It just didn’t work out.”

Read More: Denny Hamlin “Happy” to Give Away Grandfather Clock to Chris Gabehart by Winning at Unconquered Martinsville

It is hard to determine what would have happened at Homestead without the car’s failure or in Martinsville because of the unfortunate restart. These two events will ensure that Denny Hamlin has the right fire to concur the grid in 2024.