Pair Of Crashes Drops Hamlin Below Playoff Cut Line

Denny Hamlin (John Harrelson/Nigel Kinrade Photography for Toyota Racing)

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Denny Hamlin’s recent downward spiral continued to haunt him into the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, putting him in a tight spot heading into a crucial cutoff race.

The championship hopeful was able to limit the bleeding from a wild Go Bowling at the Glen Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International, but not enough to keep himself on the positive side of the elimination line.

Coming off a surprising 24th-place outing in the postseason opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway – where he laid back all race only to be swept up in a final-lap crash – Hamlin was in dire need of a good points day after coming into Watkins Glen just two points to the good.

Instead, what the No. 11 team led by crew chief Chris Gabehart got was a weekend full of headaches and carnage – though it somehow, at least, amounted to a salvageable effort.

For the second straight week, Hamlin failed to execute in qualifying, putting himself and the team at a significant disadvantage by starting mid-pack in 22nd at the 2.45-mile road course.

Picking up right where he left off in Atlanta after his last-lap wreck, the 43-year-old was collected in a lap one pile-up, which also saw reigning champion Ryan Blaney’s day come to an immediate end.

Denny Hamlin's wounded No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE at Watkins Glen International Sunday afternoon. (John Harrelson/NKP for Toyota Racing photo)

The right-front of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE clipped Hamlin’s former teammate Kyle Busch as Busch went spinning through the bus stop, which forced an extended stay on pit road to correct and assess the damage to Hamlin’s machine.

After losing a lap, the Chesterfield, Va., native was able to meet minimum speed and hang on to receive the free pass at the end of stage one.

Hamlin was miraculously able to score one point by finishing 10th in the second segment, courtesy of 15 green-flag laps and a myriad of drivers short-pitting to flip the stage, before Daniel Suarez got stuck in the turn six sand trap to force a caution and early end to the stage.

Three laps into the final stint, Hamlin found himself buried back in 31st, while fellow playoff drivers Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski battled for 29th.

As the former Cup Series champions leaned on each other entering the esses in turn two, Hamlin attempted a three-wide pass on the outside and got sent hard into the guardrail after contact from the No. 6.

When all hope seemed lost yet again, Hamlin and the No. 11 team kept their championship composure by patching up any potential issues and staying on track. Fortunately, three more cautions would spawn late, collecting numerous playoff contenders and leading to an overtime finish.

A day that began in a wreck and continued with a second ultimately ended with Hamlin crossing the finish line in 23rd, still ahead of five playoff drivers.

“Great effort by this FedEx Toyota team to keep us in it,” Hamlin said. “Obviously the car was just destroyed, so to finish 23rd – I guess there is a positive there. We were certainly in a worse spot most of the day, and luckily, we had some attrition there at the end that helped us out.”

Hamlin chalked his current playoff position up to the immense unpredictability of the three tracks – a superspeedway, road course, and bullring short track – making up this year’s first round.

“It’s just been a couple races where things out of our control just didn’t go well,” Hamlin noted. “I mean … the first lap [crash], and certainly I have to take responsibility for what I did on Saturday, which is not qualifying well. That was on me.

“But certainly, that put us right in the middle of where wrecks usually happen and we got shoved into it.”

While the No. 11 team was able to persevere as best they could, Hamlin finds himself outside the top-12 cutoff entering the Round of 16 finale at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

The good news is that he’s only six points down from advancing, going into a track where he’s won the last two races.

“We’ll be fine,” said Hamlin of his outlook entering The Last Great Colosseum. “I have no doubts that we’re going to be good and [run] up front and control our own destiny. I feel like we can go there and win.”

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 16 concludes with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol on Saturday, Sept. 21, with broadcast coverage live on USA, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.