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Denny Hamlin blames Cole Custer for last-lap wreck that gave William Byron Daytona 500 win

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•02/16/25•

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Denny Hamlin (34)
Feb 13, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Denny Hamlin blamed Cole Custer for the wreck that happened during the final lap of the 2025 Daytona 500. After the race, Hamlin explained what led to him missing out on winning the Daytona 500 for the fourth time in his career.

“I thought we were in a great spot many times in the last 10 laps,” Hamlin told FOX Sports. “I appreciate National Debt Relief coming on and giving them a great ride. We didn’t have the caution on the first front straightaway spin, and I was like ‘Well, that’s the second lease on life to try to get the 2 (Austin Cindric).’ So I measured up the 2, got a run on him, and stayed with him enough to where I could kinda control what side I wanted to pass him on. And then we had pulled away from the pack slightly, so I knew a run was gonna come.”

Hamlin continued, “The 41(Cole Custer) had the run and I chose not to block him. In these races, you gotta live to make it off of turn 4 and we just didn’t. I thought that the 41 came down. I’m pushing the 2 down as low as I can, giving the 41 all the space and not stopping his run.

Denny Hamlin shares more on the wreck with Cole Custer

“I thought he steered left and was trying to crowd it. I understand everyone’s trying to go for it, and he’s going for it. All of us are. But in those situations, we gotta get off of 4, then we can do this. But we just never made it and someone else won. I don’t even know where William [Byron] was running.”

Due to the wreck, Hamlin earned a P24 finish at Daytona, and William Byron won for the second consecutive year. Since winning “The Great American Race” in 2019 and 2020, the 44-year-old has earned just one top-10 finish at the Daytona 500 once (P5 in 2021). Before this year’s race, Hamlin finished 37th, 17th and 19th and the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Daytona 500s, respectively.

Denny Hamlin was looking to get the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season off to a strong start as he has yet to win a Cup Series championship. In his career, Hamlin has won 54 races and earned 358 top-10 finishes in 686 starts in the Cup Series.