KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Denny Hamlin had only one thing on his mind during the final lap at Kansas Speedway: “Winning 60.”
That dictated how he handled the final restart in NASCAR Overtime. But when the checkered flag waved, it was Hamlin falling short to Chase Elliott by a mere 0.069 seconds in the middle race of the Round of 12 after last-corner contact with Bubba Wallace foiled any chance he had of cementing his name alongside Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time Cup Series wins list.
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Hamlin flat-out dominated Sunday‘s Hollywood Casino 400 by leading a race-high 159 laps, sweeping the stages and scoring the fastest lap. But the driver of the No. 11 Toyota reported to his team he lost power steering on Lap 214 and told reporters he had to muscle out a runner-up finish with 10-20% power steering remaining over the final 50 laps, which not only added more postseason peril but produced another layer to his attack in the waning laps.
After restarting sixth on the final two-lap shootout, Hamlin charged to the back bumper of race-leader Wallace on the back straightaway. Hamlin dove left of Wallace entering Turn 3, but the move backfired. Wallace was shoved into the wall and both Toyotas lost momentum upon contact. That was all Elliott needed as he joined the scene late after restarting 10th and stole the victory, punching his ticket to the Round of 8.
“I got really close to the 23,” Hamlin said. “If I had to do it all over again, I think I’d run a little bit lower to allow a space between us so I don’t get so tight and then try to turn the wheel more.”
The clash between Hamlin and Wallace, who simultaneously played the role of competitor and employee to Hamlin, highlighted the dynamics that come with Hamlin co-owning a race team and driving with his own agenda. A win for either Hamlin or Wallace would have propelled either to the Round of 8 with a guarantee. Instead, Hamlin leaves 48 points above the provisional cutline and Wallace exits 26 points below.
“I would have raced everyone the same way,” Hamlin said. “No one will ever accuse me of laying over for anyone for a win. To win a championship, we’ve gotta figure out a way to move on. And I would have loved for me and the 23 to battle it out, but obviously I couldn’t turn the car well enough that last corner and got him.”
What perhaps could have been a day of celebration for Hamlin instead resulted in disappointment.
“We were the best car,” Hamlin said. “Had a bad pit stop, restart sixth. One (lap) to go, I’m thinking, ‘Find a way to get 60.‘ And obviously, not having power steering there was not ideal.”
After leading both overtime restarts but leaving with a fifth-place finish, Wallace showed elation with his crew members after an adversity-filled day and gave Hamlin a friendly pat on the side. But the 23XI racer was still sour about how his boss raced him on the final lap and seeing his ticket to the Round of 8 evaporate in the Kansas heat.
“Can‘t talk to him,” Wallace said of Hamlin.
“I’ve always been big on how you race me is how I race you,” he added. “No matter who you are, what it is — we race hard. … I mean, you guys (have) seen it. It’s unfortunate. You know, I was excited to race Denny for the win, and we ended up fifth and gave the 9 (Elliott) a win. So that’s what’s frustrating the most. We couldn’t get Toyota to Victory Lane.”
Wallace fought an ill-handling car all day, an early sign of the gremlins 23XI Racing faced the prior three Kansas races that could possibly drop Wallace into a deeper points hole. But after a call from No. 23 crew chief Charles Denike to bring Wallace down pit road first in Stage 1, the tables started to turn in their favor as the team slowly chipped away to finally crack the top five in the middle frame.
WATCH: Hear from Bubba Wallace
“Every stint that went by, my smile got bigger and bigger because we were getting back up to the front,” Wallace said. “It was nice to see everybody sticking together. Intensity ramps up, the emotions ramp up and I’m vocal, like, we need to fix our car immediately. And they kept their heads down, gave me the appropriate adjustments, and we made it work and we had a shot for the win.”
Both shot-callers for Hamlin and Wallace had comparable sentiments that their respective drivers shared and wore similar emotions, too.
“Obviously, the restarts weren’t great when you got to send it early there, and he was able to still hang on to it after his arms were mushed,” an equally deflated Chris Gayle, No. 11 crew chief, told NASCAR.com. “Really proud of him for doing that and the effort he showed all day. Hate it for him. We felt like we had a car to win and I hate that he wasn’t able to secure that win.”
Though Denike would have preferred to stand in Victory Lane alongside Wallace, he kept it glass-half full with how his driver fought back and never got discouraged.
“Huge result and resiliency,” Denike told NASCAR.com. “He did a great job sticking with it and and just fighting through one stint at a time. We clawed our way back to where we needed to be, and then felt like we were able to maintain good control. Really proud of what Bubba did this race. All you can ask for is a shot to win at the end, and we certainly had that multiple times.”
The Round of 12 closer at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on Oct. 5 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) presents a wild card, and Hamlin and Wallace enter on opposite sides of the cutline. Four drivers will be eliminated from championship contention after next week’s race, and despite Wallace’s strong showing in the Heartland, he’s back where he started before Sunday’s showing.
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