Denny Hamlin played the opening part of Sunday’s Bank of America 400 looking like a capable driver at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The checkered flag, he wondered how quickly it had gone.
The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran finished fifth, saving a top-five finish despite pit road trouble, in the race for championship rival Kyle Larson and No. 11 Toyota, which gradually changed its advantage, lost track conditions.
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Chasing the driver’s first NASCAR Cup Series championship, he was quite satisfied with fifth place.
“Lackluster day,” Hamlin said in a separate post-race interview on pit road.
“We were the first 100-lap winning car.”
that bothered him the most. Hamlin believed he had a car capable of much more, but the performance simply wasn’t where it should have been.
Denny Hamlin’s Charlotte Race Revealed After Promising Start
Hamlin started 12th after Saturday’s session was simply canceled due to rain and quickly made his way into the top 10.
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His progress was interrupted when Connor Zilisch’s No. 88 Chevrolet fixed him in the pit stall, he rented a very expensive one. A separate pit safety violation, when a crew member was tripped while restoring a loose graph, added to his problems.
Hamlin recovered, but the handling of his car became a major concern as the afternoon progressed.
“He just didn’t have the speed that he needed,” Hamlin said. “I had a short run that was OK, that was honest.”
Changes in the situation do not help.
“When he hit the track, it wasn’t just what he really thought and certainly leveled the field,” he explained.
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Hamlin was unable to maintain the pace that had made him a contender earlier in the race due to the closing laps.
Hamlin addresses Contact With Kyle Larson and Smile Fails
Hamlin’s afternoon also included contact with Larson on the lap 123 restart.
The two championship contenders were battling for position when Hamlin moved to the inside and made contact with Larson’s Chevrolet, No. sending 5 steps.
Hamlin later offered his perspective.
“I got inside and I think he was trying to cover the place. But I was already there,” he said.
Larson recovered to finish sixth, one place behind Hamlin.
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Despite leading the championship, Hamlin actually lost ground in the standings. remains second, now 49 points for Larson with four remaining.
I’m not looking for an apology for Hamlin.
“Execute better, be a little faster, all of the above,” he said. “We finally got to give it all up now.”
Charles was not defeated. Hamlin still earned a top-five finish and remains firmly in contention for the championship.
But when the season is over, he knows he’s not good enough for having a southbound car.