Denny Hamlin explains 'frustration' after falling just short of Christopher Bell in Phoenix

Denny Hamlin had an awesome run this past weekend at Phoenix Raceway, where he came home as the runner-up to teammate Christopher Bell. Despite the podium finish, the 44-year old was frustrated with the result. 

The Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman has been in this business long enough, and he realizes that when you have a chance to get to Victory Lane, you have to take it. Hamlin hasn’t won since a trip to Dover last April, and he saw career victory No. 55 in his sights. However, it wasn’t meant to be.

“That’s where my frustration really stems from,” Hamlin stated, regarding having a shot to win this past weekend in Arizona, via the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast. “It’s just like, ‘Gosh’ — if you want to accomplish your goals, you’ve got to capitalize on each one that you have that opportunity. I thought when we came out second with 40 to go, I thought we had a legit shot. I thought we had made our car much better on the long run. I was looking forward. We got red tires. I’m like, ‘Okay, all I’ve got to do is put some pressure on him. Stay right here behind him, and let the thing kind of work out.’ In the long run, I felt like I could make some ground and pressure him. But we ended up into some shootouts and it’s like — that’s not necessarily my forte. 

“We ended up getting a couple of good restarts and that changed my — your goals in a race constantly change throughout the race. I mean, I’ll find myself many times in the middle of a race — say you got a bad pit stop, or some bad fortune or something. You’re P15 with 50 to go. I’ll say to myself, ‘I’m gonna be happy getting back to the top five today. If I get a top five, these circumstances — like, I’m going to leave this weekend satisfied.’ And so it just changes. When it was 50 to go and I was P6 or so, it was like, ‘Can I finish P4?’ So, it just changed with each circumstance that changed at the end of the race.”

All told, it’s been a bit of a tough road for Hamlin since his last win in Delaware. He was on fire during the spring of 2024, winning three races before the calendar turned to May. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t return to Victory Lane throughout the remainder of the summer and fall, as he’s been shutout ever since. 

Phoenix is a track that’s been kind to him in the past, as he had two prior wins in the desert. A third would’ve locked him into the playoffs for 2025, and given him his first victory with new crew chief Chris Gayle. The run was encouraging nonetheless, but it’s easy to see why frustration washed over Hamlin following the race.

Alas, Denny Hamlin will be looking to do one position better this coming weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He’s won in the past in Sin City. A victory this time around would do a lot to ease his concerns after coming home P2 at Phoenix.