Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team left a lot of points on the table in Las Vegas, despite Hamlin believing that they had a race-winning car. They scored no stage points and finished 16th after a difficult day.
The two defining moments of Hamlin’s race came in the opening stage — the decision to pit from the lead when he spun while pushing for stage points.
He already explained after the race that venturing up into the high groove caused the spin as it wasn’t cleaned off yet, and there were still a lot of marbles there. The pit stop was also a tough call, as the tire advantage wasn’t big enough for him to make quick headway.
But on Actions Detrimental, Hamlin revealed that he did not have the entire picture during that opening stage either, as he was oblivious to championship leader Kyle Larson’s early-race handling woes and a lengthy pit stop that put the No. 5 a lap down.
“If I maybe knew where Larson was, then I maybe don’t try to go up there,” said Hamlin. “But for all I knew, he was right behind me. I had no idea. Had I known that Larson was a lap down and he would’ve gotten his lap back by me pitting, I would have never turned down pit road, I don’t care what the crew chief says. I would’ve never turned down pit road.”
Watch: Hamlin after Vegas: ‘Didn’t live up to what we expected’
During the 2025 championship fight, there was another moment where Hamlin was caught off-guard by what was happening around him. At the Charlotte Roval, Ross Chastain ran him over on the final lap as he desperately needed one more spot to advance into the Round of 8 and eliminate Joey Logano. Hamlin had no idea, and later had a lively conversation with his team about it on pit road.
Hamlin ultimately lost the championship at Phoenix when Larson took tire tires on the final pit stop, while Hamlin gave up the lead to take four fresh ones. Even still, he defended the process for his No. 11 team.
“You’ve got to understand, you’ve got to give my team a break too and I’ve got to give my team a break,” said Hamlin. “Because they are focused on helping me get the fastest car that I can get on that day, and they’re focused on ‘what is his feedback, what are the tools we’ve got in the toolbox to make his car as good as we can,’ and that’s what they’re focused on. They’re calling my race. They’re not sitting on the couch listening to the announcers breaking down the 5 car’s race. In the bubble of the racetrack, it’s really hard to put all that in perspective.
“Listen, if we would’ve known that when Larson took two tires at Phoenix and we had 15 seconds to answer that — we didn’t. And that’s something that we’ve got to learn from, and we’ve certainly have got to get better at understanding who we’re racing, what’s going on, and responding the correct way.”
Denny Hamlin spins, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Photo by: Chris Williams of Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Hamlin also took responsibility for spinning out and damaging the car, saying that without it, “our our day is still very successful — there was no one that was going to run with me.”
He went as far as to say that it was “definitely a race-winning car.” Unfortunately for Hamlin, he is now 40 points behind Larson as the Chase hits the halfway point, and the Hendrick driver is currently boasting an average finish of 2.2 during the Chase races run thus far. Larson even crashed on the final lap in Vegas, and still crossed the line in second place.
Without winning some races himself, that points margin will be difficult for Hamlin make up if Larson continues to perform at such an elite level.
Watch: Race Rewind: Briscoe prevails in wild Las Vegas finish
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