Call him selfish, call him arrogant, or call him whatever you may want, but facts are facts. This is what Denny Hamlin claimed on the latest episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast. And the facts he was referring to were not getting the wins he thinks he deserves, the most recent of which came at Kansas.
Kyle Larson has unknowingly taught Denny Hamlin a big lesson
After a late caution and overtime cost him a second win of the season at Kansas, Hamlin listed the things that went wrong. One was the contact between Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick toward the end. Another was the way Hamlin raced Larson in the last two laps.
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Because of the way he raced the #5 car, Hamlin learned a big lesson, vowing on his podcast that he won’t make the same mistake again. “I’ve been there before, the #5 car is not going to push. He’s going to try to do everything he can to go three wide. I’ve got to just go down to the apron and say, ‘You want to go three wide? You’re gonna go through the middle.’ And I’ll send you a forewarning right now. If this happens again, he’s gonna have to go to the middle. I will not let him. I will run to the apron or keep him on the apron next time. I will not get beaten low at this racetrack again. I won’t do it again. I’ve learned my lesson. It ain’t happening again,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin had lost out on a win under similar circumstances at the same racetrack last season. In fact, over the last few years, he has lost many races in overtime, including the Phoenix last year.
Of course, losing out on the championship race was a crushing defeat for Hamlin. But the loss at Kansas hit him pretty hard. Speaking about why it was so frustrating for him, Hamlin said on his podcast, “I took this one a little tougher just because it’s like I want to capitalize. I’ve only got 50 some races left or 60 races left. So I just man, I want to get these wins when I should be winning, and it’s not happening. It’s just a lot of stuff that’s just not going great in the luck category, or the create your own luck and not executing category.”
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Hamlin himself brought up that ticking clock, confirming his plan to retire when his contract expires in 2027. With just 63 races left in his Cup career, his current tally of 61 wins—10th on the all-time list—makes every missed opportunity feel that much more significant.
The Kansas win would’ve been his 62nd win, one short of Kyle Busch’s wins. And it would’ve more or less happened if not for Cody Ware.
Hamlin not angry at Cody Ware for one reason
With Hamlin in the lead, moments away from taking the white flag, his second win of the season in sight, the caution fell. Cody, over five laps down in the race, spun because of a tire issue. This forced the race into overtime and Hamlin out of contention.
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But as frustrating as the loss was for Hamlin, he didn’t blame Ware for one simple reason: it wasn’t Cody’s fault.
“The team put him in a no-win situation. Sixty some laps? Nobody could go 60 laps. There’ll be no air left in the tires because you can’t go that long on tires. But they just left him out there and said, ‘Alright, we’ll run 60 laps.’ That’s just not putting him into a position to succeed or, at least, do anything but cause trouble. So, I don’t put it on Cody that the tire blew,” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental.
While the loss at Kansas stung, Hamlin’s performance this season proves he remains a top contender. The question is whether he can conquer the late-race chaos that has repeatedly denied him, especially with his career clock ticking louder than ever.
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