Denny Hamlin reacts to Ryan Blaney running out of gas at Gateway, explains what 'likely' happened

Ryan Blaney had a sizable lead and was well on his way to notching his first win of the season as he prepared to take the white flag in Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

But then, the unexpected happened; Blaney’s No. 12 Ford ran out of gas. Blaney nor his team had any indication he’d potentially be short on gas, but he indeed was. That allowed Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric to race past him and secure the victory at Gateway.

Speaking on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Denny Hamlin offered a theory for how Blaney’s team “miscalculated” how much gas was in the tank.

RYAN BLANEY IS OUT OF GAS. AUSTIN CINDRIC WINS AT WWT RACEWAY! pic.twitter.com/aTY0SL6zpI

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 2, 2024

“Ouchy wowie and never had any indication of it,” Hamlin said. “No one on the team gave him any pause whatsoever and so they clearly thought they were good. They only put one can of gas in versus everyone else took two. Blaney was one of the first to pit so he was gonna have to stretch it long or as long as anyone. It was clearly some sort of miscalculation, or they didn’t have as much in the tank when they pitted as what they thought.

“That definitely seems like one of the more likely cases is that the crew chief, if he only puts one can in, he’s assuming there’s a certain amount in the tank already. … They weighed it. They will then do the pit stop and then after the pit stop, re-weigh the can. That way they know how much fuel they dumped into the car. So, my thinking is that one can in there – they emptied that can. The miscalculation came from what was in the tank. They thought they had a certain amount in the tank when they pitted, and they did not. They had less than that.

“That would have been a miscalculation from earlier in the race, not necessarily a miscalculation from that last pit stop. That last pit stop will get the scrutiny, but he’s battling Cindric and others for the track position which is why he pitted earlier in the first place.”

Ryan Blaney after running out of gas, losing lead on last lap: ‘One of those things’

Blaney, the reigning Cup Series champion, now sits 12th in the points standings after being credited with a P24 finish at Gateway. His season up to this point can be described as unlucky, which remained true on Sunday.

“Never thought in my mind we were short, but it’s one of those things,” Blaney said. “I’m proud of the 12 boys. … I had my work cut out for me holding out Christopher [Bell]. That was a fun battle. I don’t know what happened to him.

“One lap short. It just stinks, but congrats to the 2 team. They did a good job all day. Props to them. …Really happy with our showing today. I don’t know what I got to do to get some luck on our side. Wrecked the last two points races and I thought we had a great shot to win today and ended up bad.”