Sunday’s playoff race at Darlington showed the world the difference between the playoffs and the regular season. The intensity of an evenly matched race with so much at stake was easily visible through the continuous battle for leads, uncanny moves, and contacts between the drivers. Hendrick Motorsports star driver Kyle Larson turned the race on its head, claiming the lead coming back from the back of the pack at P18.

Apart from Larson, another driver who had his rivals panicking with the raw pace on display was the #11 driver, Denny Hamlin. Joe Gibbs’ trump card was on course for another playoff win until a cruel twist in fate spilled water over their plans. According to a particular NASCAR insider, that was the race’s decisive moment.

NASCAR insider reveals the game-changing moment for Kyle Larson

The #11 pit crew performed one of the best pit crew stops of the race in the first pit stop of the second stage. It set the pace for Hamlin to regain his position in the front row. But a few laps later, Denny began to feel uneasy over the left rear part of the car. Arriving on the pit road again in the 273rd lap, the crew found out that the left rear wheel, usually the vehicle’s most sensitive area, had started to loosen up a bit.

As performer driver and NASCAR legend Kenny Wallace, this exact moment is when Kyle Larson started to count his chickens. The 60-year-old veteran starts off, “Denny Hamlin is gonna win this race.“

“This is where Kyle Larson takes over but you know, it’s more than just who won the race. It’s about the sound bite, it’s about the interview after the race, okay? They interviewed Kyle Larson. ‘Hey Kyle, you finally won the Southern 500, you know one of the crown jewels. What did you think when you saw Denny Hamlin have issues’?”

Things haven’t really been in the best of states between Hamlin and Larson, who happen to be close friends as well. Earlier this season, a crash between the two at Pocono transpired, where Hamlin may have gotten the better of Larson, albeit sending him into the wall with that move.

“I really like the honesty of Kyle Larson.” continued Kenny. “He goes, I was so happy to see Denny Hamlin have issues because nobody was going to do anything with Denny Hamlin.”

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“And what I really liked was Kyle Larson really telling us why he enjoyed getting rid of Denny Hamlin. He said you know, I’m driving behind Denny and I’m going as fast as I can, and he said I kept waiting for Hamlin to hit the wall. Denny Hamlin never hit the wall.”

Kyle Larson will be celebrating his hard-earned win and a maiden win at Darlington to top it off. Winning the race also makes him immune to any skirmish about qualification for the next round and releases the pressure of a dip in form.

Denny Hamlin is ready to move on from the blunder at Darlington

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After a long day at work, Hamlin seemed dejected after an unfortunate error in judgment cost them what could have been a free pass to the round of 12. While Larson dominated 55 laps in the race, it kicked off only after Hamlin had to drop out of the lead with a mechanical issue. He addressed the same on his podcast Actions Detrimental earlier in an episode that was also graced by his team owner, Joe Gibbs, as a guest.

“I was happy, stated Hamlin as he thanked his pit crew for their contribution to his performance. “I thought my team did great all day long. Afterward, I mentioned that this is just a game of millimeters. Things just don’t go on perfectly. These guys have muscle memory that I hit the lug for a certain amount of time if there’s just a little hitch or whatever.”

Hamlin then tried to gather the positives from the race as the podcast continued. Claiming that this was his first time feeling the brunt of the pressure on the left rear wheel, he added,

“It’s not tight but yeah it was… I thought our pit crew did a phenomenal job all race long. They were on it. No doubt about it. This is actually the very first loose feeling I’ve had in the Next-Gen.”

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For a driver with the talents of Hamlin, making the top 12 will be a relatively easier task than some names on the grid. However, special attention will be given to such errors, which have continued for Joe Gibbs Racing throughout the season. Considering that the much-eluded championship trophy is at stake in every round of the playoffs, it goes without saying what the impact of such mistakes can be.