Everything was set up for Denny Hamlin to succeed going into the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase presented by Mobil 1 … until The Chase actually started, that is.
Two-thirds of the way through Sunday’s Chase opener at Darlington Raceway, Hamlin was running at the edge of the top 15 when Michael McDowell bumped him into the wall and damaged his toe links, noticeably affecting the No. 11 car’s performance the rest of the night. It ended up transforming a race where Hamlin led nearly 20% of all laps (and had an average running position of 9.01) and reducing it to an 18th-place finish, worse than 12 of his 15...
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