KANSAS CITY, Kan.: Denny Hamlin didn’t want to see the final yellow flag fly with six laps remaining in the AdventHealth 400.
The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was leading the race for the fifth time when Kyle Busch spun in Turn 2 to trigger the seventh caution.
Hamlin retained the lead out of the pits and restarted on the front row alongside Chris Buescher for the green-white-checkered overtime restart, but Kyle Larson ducked to the botoom of the track and shot past the No. 11 Camry. Larson then set his sights on the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and overtook Chris Buescher at the line for the closest finish in NASCAR Cup history, a margin of 0.001 seconds.
While Hamlin led the most laps in the rain-delayed event, he lost momentum over the final two circuits and finished fifth.
“It didn’t end the way I wanted it to but that’s part of racing,” Hamlin said. “Sometimes you’re on the good side of these things, sometimes you’re not. But I feel we did a good job coming back from the adversity we had.
“We were set up to win another race, it just didn’t work out.”
Adversity doesn’t begin to describe Hamlin’s day. Though he qualified 14th, Hamlin flexed his muscle early, gaining eight positions in the first 30 laps. By Lap 50, Hamlin had raced into the top five and on Lap 63 took the lead to continue his streak of leading at least one lap for 16 consecutive races.
Hamlin won the first stage—his third stage win of the season—but overshot his pit box and lost seven positions. With encouragement from crew chief Chris Gabehart, Hamlin regrouped. He restarted 11th for the second stage on Lap 89. After green-flag stops on Lap 118, Hamlin cycled out to sixth-place and finished third in Stage 2.
Once again, the pits proved perilous for Hamlin. Although his pit crew performed admirably, as he attempted to exit his pit box, Hamlin was blocked by the incoming Ryan Preece.
“Son-of-a-bitch,” Hamlin exclaimed. Gabehart responded, “They’re not making it easy on us today.”
Hamlin lined up 12th for the Lap 174 restart. Mired in traffic, his car’s balance reacted differently than in clean air. Hamlin’s frustration rose quickly but once again, Gabehart calmed his driver.
Until the third stage, the race had been slowed by just two cautions—each for stage breaks.The final 90 laps featured five cautions with Hamlin being responsible for the Lap 186 yellow flag. He slid back to 14th when his car became unstable one lap earlier and Hamlin made contact with Christopher Bell. Following the five-car incident, Hamlin restarted 16th on Lap 191.
Another quick caution two laps later—ignited by the single-car spin of Harrison Burton—enable Gabehart to change strategy and pit on Lap 195. The car and the driver became angrier 10 rows deep in the field following the Lap 197 restart. As Hamlin’s ire rose, Gabehart talked his driver off the ledge.
“We drove from the back to the front twice,” said the crew chief. “I’m saving the best for last.”
Two laps later, an incident between Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe drew the sixth caution forcing the remainder of the contenders to pit. Hamlin cycled to the front row next to race leader Todd Gilliland, who stayed out on the track.
Hamlin easily took the lead on Lap 206—but it was short-lived. Buescher, whose crew chose the same early pit strategy as the No. 11 team, passed Hamlin two laps later. For 21 circuits, Hamlin and Buescher battled it out until the No. 11 Camry seized the point on Lap 229.
Hamlin appeared to be en route to his fourth win of 2024 until Busch lost control of his car on Lap 261 and forced the race into overtime. Gabehart warned his driver the restart would be aggressive. He gently suggested, “Find a way.”
Unfortunately, for Hamlin, the final caution was one too many.
“We certainly had the fastest car—there’s no disputing that,” Hamlin said. “We got back on pit road and then played with the cards we were dealt, in pitting. Then we were able to flip the field back. At that point, I’m just saving gas and running a pace up front that was good enough to stay up front and win the race. But it didn’t stay green.”
Once again, Hamlin and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team proved their ability to persevere. Although he didn’t come away with the win, the team earned 50 points for their effort and trails third-place Chase Elliott in the standings by one point.
Hamlin remained encouraged after the race. He admits this is the best this team has been in some time—if ever.
“We have the best team, for sure,” Hamlin said. “They’re giving me fast cars. They give me something I can really work with every single week. I’m happy with the speed we’ve got. I’m glad we salvaged at top five after, with 70 to go, it didn’t look like that.
“But I really wanted to win. I was thinking, ‘We just flipped this race upside down and we’re going to get this win back,’ one that we deserved based on our speed. We were really, really fast. But it just comes down to a restart, and you never know what can happen in those scenarios.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
