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Despite the pre-season exhibition race win at L. A Coliseum, Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin feels he is cursed. Whenever he is in an advantageous position, “somebody screws up” and all hell breaks loose. Reacting to his three slips and wrecks at the one-and-a-half-mile track in Atlanta, Georgia, Hamlin reflected on the disappointing finish – I’m tired of this sh*t!” Taking a sly dig at Joey Logano, Hamlin detailed the stage 2 incident scene by scene. 

The #11 JGR driver had accidents in every stage of the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The veteran driver, who is known for his consistency and success in Superspeedway races, had to go home with a disappointing 23rd-place finish. In fact, each of his accidents occurred at different stages of the race, making it a unique occurrence. Despite these setbacks, Hamlin managed to finish the race. Following the race, he expressed his disappointment with how the race unfolded for him, poking Joey Logano for his unnecessary and futile block at fellow driver Chris Buescher that brought up Hamlin’s second slip in the last lap of Stage 2.

Hamlin dissects the Stage 2 tangle with Joey Logano that dropped him further down the drain

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All the momentum Hamlin gained from his first win of the year at L. A is now lost. In the first two points race of the schedule, Hamlin finished below 15 both times. He crossed the finish line at Daytona at the 19th spot and Atlanta 23rd. After his Daytona outing, Hamlin was optimistic about adding another W under his belt, aiming for a decisive race result at the one-and-a-half-mile track in Atlanta. However, fate had other ideas.

Reflecting on his Atlanta venture, Hamlin opened up in his popular Actions Detrimental podcast, taking a sly dig at Logano, stating the obvious about his accident in the last lap of Stage 2.

He said, “Moving on, so the other wreck, the #22(Joey Logano) pulled a late block on the #17(Chris Buescher) on the last lap and freaking wrecked himself the #17 and me and I was top 5 again, coming into the end of the stage and got nothing out of it. Am I just generally cursed? Like we always bring it up about the end of the year just didn’t work out for whatever reason but like I’m tired of this shit, every time I’m in a good position somebody screws up right in front of me.” 

Adding more ammunition to his take, Hamlin reiterated that he is bashing Logano, but he is stating the incidents that unfolded in the 260-lap feature on Sunday. The #22 was trying to block the #17, the #17 was getting to the outside of the #22 and he just came right up like, it’s one of those things, you know I definitely am guilty  at times but you just see this and I’m not picking on Joey because he sees it regularly but like it’s just the end of the stage fellas, you just going to lose a spot may be the #17 aint going to clear you if he gets to your outside, you’re not fighting for the stage win by the way, you’re fighting for like fourth or fifth.” 

Hamlin’s ugly trifecta of accidents in Atlanta

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If it wasn’t for the misfortune, Hamlin would be a Cup Series champion by now. The #11 driver was decked with multiple mechanical failures last year, burning down his title aspirations. Likewise, the speedway expert was halted in Atlanta by three separate incidents, keeping him in the middle without allowing the advance of the #11 JGR Toyota to the front.

READ MORE: Denny Hamlin Confesses “Historical” Pee Accident At Atlanta At Carl Edwards & Tyler Reddick’s Expense

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The first incident occurred in the first stage where his former teammate, Kyle Busch, bumped him from behind and spun him out, resulting in the #11 to fall to the back of the grid. Hamlin gradually climbed up the field, only to be involved in another accident on the final lap of the second stage. This time, he collided with a cup champion twice and another former teammate, causing him to face more setbacks.

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In the last leg of the race in stage 3, Hamlin was involved in another incident when Stewart Haas Racing‘s Chase Briscoe made contact with him while attempting to race four-wide. This collision resulted in a liquid spill, forcing NASCAR to temporarily halt the race. Hamlin expressed his helplessness in avoiding these incidents, stating that he had no other options in such situations.

Putting everything in the past, Hamlin will have to focus on the road ahead to claim a win and ultimately get to his goal of racking up a title.