Denny Hamlin reacts to falling short at Homestead-Miami playoff race

With two laps to go, Denny Hamlin had the lead at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He would ultimately fall short of the win and finish P3. Is this another NASCAR Playoff that Hamlin fails to capitalize on?

Despite a shaky performance up to this point in the playoffs, Denny Hamlin has advanced to this point. Today, he had a car capable of winning. Late in the race, chips on the table, he failed to cash in.

After the race, Hamlin seemed let down, understandably. He will have to move on quickly from this as the playoffs continue next week. Tyler Reddick was too good late, his final lap was killer. Nothing Hamlin can do about that.

“Well, I’m not really sure. I try to cover all lanes but just couldn’t quite get off the corner as good as I needed to there on that short run,” Hamlin explained. “And um, short run wasn’t my specialty all day obviously. But either way, you know, controlling the race two to go, you got to try to find a way to finish it and uh, just didn’t.”

Historically, Denny Hamlin likes to set up for the long run. Did that cost him today?

“Yeah I mean, I want to be faster on the shorter run but it’s just, you know, a lot of it is what we build into the car and things like that,” he answered when asked. But [crew chief] Chris [Gabehart] gave me everything I needed there to try to race them. Just didn’t get it done.”

So, is the plan to go and win next week? He’s 18 points outside of the cutline. He doesn’t have to, but that might be the only thing that gets him to Phoenix.

“I mean, yeah, it’s another opportunity and certainly you’re not out of it until they throw the checkered flag at Martinsville.”

Denny Hamlin going to the Championship 4 as owner

This is another one of those confusing days for Denny Hamlin. As a driver, he has to realize what he did wrong today and learn from it. Perhaps just turn his attention completely to Martinsville. Then there is the owner of 23XI Racing.

Tyler Reddick ended up prevailing over Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. The three drivers put on a hell of a show on the final restart. Watching them trade places and make moves up and down the track was pure energy and exactly what NASCAR fans want from this race.

So, Hamlin is going to the Championship 4, as co-owner of 23XI Racing’s No. 45 team. That is a hard dichotomy to balance. Disappointment as a driver, elation as an owner. How can you not celebrate with Michael Jordan at a time like this?

With his back against the wall going to Martinsville, is Denny Hamlin going to miss out on the Championship 4 for the third straight season? He is more than capable of winning at Martinsville, but it won’t be easy by any means.