WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Denny Hamlin didn’t have much margin for error in the final two races of the NASCAR Cup Series round of 16.
Acting conservatively in the playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hamlin scored just 13 points – riding toward the rear with an ill-handling racecar. He jumped into the mix as the laps ticked down but caught up in a crash on the last lap that relegated him to 24th.
At Watkins Glen Int’l, he didn’t even make it a lap.
Stemmed from contact between Corey LaJoie and Kyle Busch in the bus stop, Hamlin suffered severe damage as he got bumped into the Armco barrier before entering Turn Five.
“The 8 was turned sideways,” Hamlin said. “I didn’t know how or why, but we got killed from behind and knocked into it.”
At first glance, the damage seemed terminal. He limped his battered No. 11 Toyota Camry back to the pits, but crew chief Chris Gabehart and company repaired the car and met the DVP clock – only falling a lap down.
Hamlin got the free pass at the end of Stage One, earning his lap back after a lengthy battle with Busch.
“Thanks, KB,” Hamlin radioed.
Running a manageable pace, trouble hit Hamlin again early in Stage Three.
On lap 46, Hamlin went three-wide with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson through the esses – the narrowest part of the 2.45-mile road course. The Chesterfield, Va., native got the brunt of it, backing into the fence after contact with Keselowski.
“We were three wide and the 6, I thought, could have let off there because we were so far ahead,” Hamlin said. “But he kept it three wide, and obviously, I wrecked.”
Hamlin fell a lap down for the second time as his team made repairs, but once again, got in position to gain his lap back.
Late cautions then fell into his favor. Running in the 30s for most of the day, three yellows in the final 10 laps – including a hectic NASCAR Overtime – allowed Hamlin to grind his way to a 23rd-place finish.
The day could’ve ended much worse. Had he stayed in the 30s, Hamlin would’ve faced a points deficit of nearly 15 points. Instead, he’s just six points behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs for the final spot.
“Obviously, the car is just destroyed, so to finish 23rd, I mean, I guess it’s a positive,” Hamlin said. “We were certainly in a worse place than that mostly all day, and luckily, we had some attrition there at the end that helped us out.
“I knew the damage was bad. I was really looking forward to this race, believe it or not, because we made some really good adjustments overnight to help with where I felt like we were going to be a little bit off. I really wanted to just race and see what my car had, but man, just never had a chance.”
Hamlin’s hopes now come down to one race: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. He’s won the last two races at the half-mile short track, but his victory in the spring essentially got wiped away after it was discovered Toyota never sent the winning engine to NASCAR for inspection.
The typically assertive Hamlin is confident that at the very least, he can make up six points.
“If you run in the top two or three all day, absolutely,” Hamlin said when asked if pointing his way in is manageable. “I feel like we can go there and win. Finally, we’re going to go to a let-off oval.
“Just back to a normal track, and obviously, we feel like we control our destiny there.”