Despite believing the No. 11 Toyota was a race-winning car, Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing left substantial points on the table in Las Vegas. The team earned zero stage points and finished 16th following a difficult afternoon.
Two critical junctures defined Hamlin’s race, beginning in the opening stage when he elected to pit from the lead while pushing for stage points.
Hamlin previously explained that venturing up into the unwashed high groove, which still held marbles, caused the spin. The pit call itself was difficult to justify, as the tire advantage did not offer enough speed to make up significant ground.
However, on Actions Detrimental, Hamlin disclosed that his view of the opening stage was incomplete. He remained oblivious to championship leader Kyle Larson’s early handling struggles and a lengthy pit stop that dropped the No. 5 a lap down.
“If I maybe knew where Larson was, then I maybe don’t try to go up there,” said Hamlin. “But for all I knew, he was right behind me. I had no idea. Had I known that Larson was a lap down and he would’ve gotten his lap back by me pitting, I would have never turned down pit road, I don’t care what the crew chief says. I would’ve never turned down pit road.”
Watch: Hamlin after Vegas: ‘Didn’t live up to what we expected’
This lack of situational awareness surfaced again during the 2025 championship battle. At the Charlotte Roval, Ross Chastain bumped Hamlin on the final lap, a move Hamlin desperately needed to advance into the Round of 8 and eliminate Joey Logano. Unaware of the context at the time, Hamlin later had an animated discussion with his team on pit road.
Hamlin ultimately lost the championship at Phoenix, where Larson took two tires on the final stop while Hamlin yielded track position to take four fresh ones. Even so, Hamlin defended the decision-making process for his No. 11 team.
“You’ve got to understand, you’ve got to give my team a break too and I’ve got to give my team a break,” said Hamlin. “Because they are focused on helping me get the fastest car that I can get on that day, and they’re focused on ‘what is his feedback, what are the tools we’ve got in the toolbox to make his car as good as we can,’ and that’s what they’re focused on. They’re calling my race. They’re not sitting on the couch listening to the announcers breaking down the 5 car’s race. In the bubble of the racetrack, it’s really hard to put all that in perspective.
“Listen, if we would’ve known that when Larson took two tires at Phoenix and we had 15 seconds to answer that — we didn’t. And that’s something that we’ve got to learn from, and we’ve certainly have got to get better at understanding who we’re racing, what’s going on, and responding the correct way.”
Denny Hamlin spins, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Photo by: Chris Williams of Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Hamlin also accepted responsibility for the spin that damaged the car, stating that without it, “our day is still very successful — there was no one that was going to run with me.”
He described the vehicle as “definitely a race-winning car.” For Hamlin, however, the equation is becoming harder; he is now 40 points behind Larson as the Chase reaches its halfway point. Larson holds an average finish of 2.2 in the Chase races so far, and he survived a final-lap crash in Vegas to finish second.
Unless Hamlin wins races of his own, closing that points margin will be difficult if Larson continues to perform at such an elite level.
