Brad Keselowski recently reflected on Denny Hamlin’s failure to qualify at the 2008 Darlington Raceway. During that event, Hamlin, driving the #18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, aimed to set the fastest time but ended up crashing into the outside wall, leaving his qualifying attempt unfinished.
At the time, Hamlin was competing full-time in the Cup Series and part-time in what was then the NASCAR Nationwide Series, now known as the Xfinity Series. Notably, he had secured the pole position at the 1.366-mile track for two consecutive years and was aiming for a third. However, after hitting the wall at around 178 mph, the damage to his car was so severe that it couldn’t complete the lap.
Sixteen years later, NASCAR insider Colby Evans revisited the incident by sharing the video of Hamlin’s qualifying lap, questioning why the Joe Gibbs Racing driver failed to make it into the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 race.
Keselowski responded, noting that it was a “different era” and that the cars were extremely difficult to handle. The RFK Racing driver recalled witnessing numerous qualifying sessions with over 10 crashes, as drivers struggled to control their vehicles. “No hate for Denny here. This was a different era, these cars were absolute beasts to drive. I remember multiple qualifying sessions where 10+ cars would crash. The drivers would literally get out of the cars shaking. I’d say 50 out of 330 [million] Americans could drive these cars. Tops,” Keselowski wrote on X.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. supported Keselowski’s perspective, sharing his own experience. “If I was nervous before a race (and I always was) I would say multiply that by 10 for each qualifying session. Atlanta or Texas 2008 was wild times,” Earnhardt Jr. added.
Although Hamlin was unable to qualify for the 2008 Xfinity race, he achieved redemption two years later with a win at Darlington Raceway.
During the same weekend as the 2008 Xfinity race, Hamlin managed to qualify for the Dodge Challenger 500 Cup Series race, though he started from 21st place. Despite the less-than-ideal starting position, Hamlin made significant progress during the race, overtaking several drivers who started ahead of him, including Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, and Scott Riggs.
Hamlin’s performance improved as the race went on, and he led for 15 laps before securing a seventh-place finish, marking his seventh top-10 finish of the season. Meanwhile, his teammate Kyle Busch dominated the race, leading 169 laps and securing his third win of the season. However, Busch’s performance declined later in the year, and he ended the 2008 season in 10th place, while Hamlin finished in 8th.
