Denny Hamlin came agonizingly close to victory at the Shriners Children’s 500 in Phoenix but was edged out by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell by just 0.049 seconds. The two JGR drivers had strong race pace throughout, ultimately securing a one-two finish. However, after the race, Hamlin admitted that he expected Bell to use him up in the battle for the win.
Bell’s victory at Phoenix marked his third consecutive win of the season following his triumphs at Circuit of the Americas and Atlanta. It was also the second-closest finish in Phoenix history, with only Kevin Harvick’s 0.01-second win over Carl Edwards in 2016 being closer.
For much of the final 25 laps, Bell maintained a comfortable half-second lead over Hamlin and appeared set for a routine victory. However, a late-race caution on lap 305—caused by Ty Gibbs hitting the outside wall—set up a dramatic restart. When the green flag waved with two laps to go, Hamlin took the white flag ahead of Bell, briefly putting himself in position for the win.
Hamlin got a strong push from Kyle Larson on both the frontstretch and backstretch, keeping him side by side with Bell heading into turn three. However, Bell moved up the track, forcing Hamlin toward the fence and gaining the advantage. After the race, Hamlin acknowledged that he knew his teammate would be aggressive in the final moments.
“It was the first time we had clean air all day, and the car was really fast. I wanted it to stay green, but we got a good restart,” Hamlin told Jamie Little. “The #5 gave me a great push, and I had position on the #20. I knew he was going to send it in there, and he did—he used me up, and we ran out of racetrack. But overall, a great finish and a strong day for Joe Gibbs Racing.”
With his runner-up finish, Hamlin earned 43 points and climbed 10 spots in the standings to seventh place with 110 points.
Meanwhile, Kyle Larson, who finished third, admitted he was hoping Hamlin and Bell would wreck each other to give him a shot at the win. “I felt like that was my only hope,” Larson said. “I could have shot to the bottom, but I probably would have wrecked everybody. I just tried to keep them side by side and see if something happened.”
The trio will return to the track on Sunday, March 16, for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with the race set to begin at 3:30 pm ET.
