It was a race against time for Denny Hamlin to claim his eighth victory at Pocono Raceway. After leading most of the race (31 laps), the reigning Pocono champion had to settle for second place, 1.3 seconds behind current Cup Series winner Ryan Blaney. It was Blaney’s No. 12 Ford Mustang that took the crown at a track where Toyota has historically excelled, securing the Team Penske driver’s second win of the season.
It was Denny Hamlin’s best result since finishing second at World Wide Technology Raceway more than five races ago, but the 43-year-old was clearly disappointed with the result, but he played down his shortcomings in his post-race interview.
Denny Hamlin puts up a brave face despite crushing defeat
Despite dominating most of the race, Denny Hamlin struggled against the clock in the “Tricky Triangle.” After Ryan Blaney took the lead with 44 laps to go, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver tried to retake the position and secure the win. With seven laps to go, Hamlin passed Alex Bowman, putting him two seconds behind Blaney. He accelerated to catch up. Despite his lightning pace, Hamlin couldn’t get close enough to catch Blaney. He closed the gap to just 1.312 seconds before running out of laps. In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, a dejected Denny Hamlin modestly covered up the team’s weakness by saying, “I never lose a race.” You always end up running out of time, right? That’s just part of it. Track position is very important. When (Blayney) pitted early on in the stage that we won, they were in front of us. It would have been difficult to overtake for sure. We just didn’t have enough green rounds at the end, but hats off to those guys. Great ride.”
Denny Hamlin said Blaney’s ability to take advantage of restarts in the final 38 laps of the race played a big role in the outcome. The Team Penske driver was able to get away quickly three times, with Hamlin catching him in the closing stages of the race. “He had great pace out there. It was really hard to even get close to him,” Hamlin said. “It’s a shame we didn’t make it to Victory Lane. Another day.”
After starting the race in fourth place, fans expected another Toyota-dominated race at Pocono Raceway. In the end, three of the top four cars were Toyotas, with the only exception being William Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro, which qualified third. Hamlin defended his crown, gaining track position at the end of the first stage and finishing second behind teammate Martin Truex Jr. He won the second stage ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, but Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney strategy made all the difference in the third stage. Ryan Blaney pitted early in the second stage and got ahead of Hamlin in the third stage, forcing the Joe Gibbs Racing driver to catch up by the end of the race. While second place may not have been what Hamlin wanted, it’s a big improvement over his recent results. Prior to Pocono, Hamlin’s best finish in the last five races was 12th at Nashville, after four finishes of 24th or worse in the last five races. After two 24th-place finishes in New Hampshire and Iowa, a 30th-place finish at the Chicago Street Course and a 38th-place finish at Sonoma Raceway after an engine failure, questions were raised about the 43-year-old’s form and dynamics. Results like these could hurt Hamlin’s chances of finishing first in the league before the playoffs begin.
Could Hamlin become the regular season champion?
With five races remaining before the playoffs begin in Atlanta, the biggest question among fans is “Who will be crowned the regular season champion?” After the weekend at Darlington Raceway, drivers such as Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin continue to compete for the top spot. In the heat of the season, drivers will be fighting to the max for the coveted 15 playoff points. Chase Elliott currently leads the Drivers’ Championship with 703 points, followed closely by Kyle Larson, three points back. Tyler Reddick, who has been a consistent performer recently, has moved into third place, 15 points behind Elliott, while Denny Hamlin sits in fourth place with 683 points. With a 21-point lead over the leader, Hamlin has the remaining races of the season to catch up. But Denny Hamlin, who has yet to win a championship in his illustrious career, knows that well. “But everybody has a hard time finding consistency, right? We had five weeks where we were just as consistent as everybody else, and now we’re having five weeks where we’re the complete opposite.” So we definitely need help and we need to be as good as we were two months ago.”
If Hamlin wants to turn things around, consistency will be key for him and his No. 11 crew. The 43-year-old definitely has the talent, experience and composure to get results when it really matters. With NASCAR heading to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in three years, Denny Hamlin will be hoping to use his experience testing tires on the track earlier this year to help him secure a long-awaited race win. Do you think Denny Hamlin can become a regular season champion? Let us know in the comments!
