Denny Hamlin speaks out about pit road struggles, mindset at Kansas

Denny Hamlin caught some flack for a quote regarding his mindset at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, after his pit crew repeatedly let him down during the first race of the Round of 12.

After the race, Hamlin said: “I’m not in it mentally, I can tell you that. There’s a lot of wires crossed, bolts loose at the moment. But what can you do? I’ll just do the best that I can to drive the car and do my part.”

Some took it as Hamlin didn’t have the same drive to win as he’s shown in the past. On latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman clarified the entire situation, speaking on his pit crew’s struggles, and how his words might’ve been misconstrued in the moment.

“I was more speaking in the moment (about solely Kansas). … Every reporter asked the same question after the race, ‘Where’s your mentality heading into Dega now?’ Like, I don’t know. I don’t think about Dega until Monday or Tuesday. Like, I’m in the moment, in this bubble, right? And I’m trying to, you know, make sense of my day and, you know, how did the result turn out, and what could we have done better,” Hamlin explained, trying to clarify his comments following the race.

“So yeah, what I was saying there is that, when they ask about my mentality, you know about, you know, ‘How do you stay mentally in it, while this is all going on?’ I’m like, you know, ‘Mentally, I’m not in it. Right now I’m just pissed off,’ and what I’m trying to say is I’m pissed off. You know, I said I got some wires crossed, some bolts loose. (That) means that, you know, I’m rattled at the moment, because I’m so angry about how our day went, that’s what that meant. Thank god I have a podcast.”

Media members and former drivers alike were taken aback by Hamlin’s original comments, but it’s nice to hear he still has the same drive to win his first NASCAR Cup Series title as they racing world would expect. Once you can see the whole picture, the quote truly feels like it was taken out of context.

Moving forward, Denny Hamlin will be looking to lock himself into the Round of 8, but he’ll have to get the job done at two volatile race tracks, with Talladega on the docket for this weekend, and the Charlotte Roval to follow.