Hamlin Moves On, Bounces Teammate Gibbs From Playoffs

Denny Hamlin (11) battles teammate Ty Gibbs Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Jacob Seelman photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Although Denny Hamlin was unable to execute a three-peat at Bristol Motor Speedway and “beat your favorite driver” again, he was competitive enough Saturday night to overcome a six-point playoff deficit and advance his way into the Round of 12.

In what was a rather forgettable Bass Pro Shops Night Race for most, unless one’s name was Kyle Larson, the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE team – which had won the last two races at Bristol prior to Saturday – showed up, ran a mistake-free race and laid it all on the table in Thunder Valley.

After taking the green flag from the eighth spot, the Chesterfield, Va.-born driver remained a mainstay in the top five for all 500 laps around the .533-mile concrete short track, actually posting a fifth-place average-running position for the first time since Richmond (Va.) Raceway more than a month prior.

While polesitter Alex Bowman led the opening 32 laps from the jump, the night quickly became all about Hamlin’s rival Larson, who proceeded to sweep both stages, win the race, and lead 462 of 500 laps – the most-ever in a single race by any Hendrick Motorsports driver in the team’s 40-year history.

The only other competitor besides Larson to outscore the No. 11 in stage points was Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr., who racked up 16 to Hamlin’s 13.

For a majority of the race, it appeared Truex was poised to erase his 14-point climb from below the cutoff, until he got nabbed for an untimely speeding penalty late in the running.

Ty Gibbs wound up suffering the same fate as his teammate in the No. 19 after earning three points in the first segment, then succumbing to a speeding penalty of his own shortly after.

Whereas Truex and Gibbs weren’t able to advance out of the first round of the playoffs due to issues of their own making, Hamlin’s quest for his first NASCAR Cup Series title at 43 years old continued on thanks to a cleanly executed race.

He finished fourth and was the second-highest Toyota in the field, behind only Bubba Wallace, who finished just ahead in third in one of the 23XI Racing cars Hamlin co-owns alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Hamlin may have been a nonfactor all evening due to Larson’s downright dominance, but his top-five effort was enough to secure him a spot in the Round of 12 for the 11th consecutive year under the current playoff format.

In fact, Hamlin was the only driver from below the elimination line who ultimately moved on in the playoffs at Bristol, bumping Gibbs out after the second-year Cup Series driver came in six points to the good.

“My aspirations were to win it – but it looked like the 5 (Larson) there was better than all of us,” Hamlin said. “Solid car. I thought we were really good towards the middle of the stages, and then at the end, got too loose and couldn’t hang on to what we had. Overall, [we had a] top-five day [and got] good stage points – [we were] kind of in the mix, but not really as good as we’ve been here the last few times.

“Overall, I want to thank this whole FedEx Toyota team for giving me something I could move on with.”

Next up, Hamlin hopes to keep his much-needed momentum rolling into Kansas Speedway, where he’s currently riding a six-race top-five streak, including his fourth win at the 1.5-mile track last spring.

The Round of 12 is slated to kick off at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 29 with the Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET at 3 p.m. ET on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.