Denny Hamlin was the place he wished to be on the finish of Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient to complete first.
Hamlin wound up third within the Straight Speak Wi-fi 400, shedding the lead with two laps to go. He was handed by Ryan Blaney going into Turns 3 and 4, after which by the automotive he co-owns, pushed by Tyler Reddick, on the ultimate lap.
“I’m probably not certain,” Hamlin mentioned of what he might have carried out in a different way. “I attempted to cowl all lanes, however simply couldn’t fairly get off the nook nearly as good as I wanted to there on that brief run. The brief run wasn’t my specialty all day, clearly.
“However both manner, controlling the race with two to go, you bought to attempt to discover a strategy to end it and simply didn’t.”
Hamlin took the lead on the ultimate restart of the afternoon with seven laps to go. He restarted on the skin of the second row and drove round Blaney and Reddick going into Flip 1. The preliminary hole he constructed over Blaney was erased when the reigning collection champion used the underside lane to tug even with Hamlin off Flip 2 within the last laps.
It was a day the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing workforce wanted. Hamlin led 21 laps and earned 14 stage factors.
Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s crew chief, additionally selected an alternate technique to assist his driver with observe place. Gabehart ran Hamlin lengthy on inexperienced flag gasoline runs, which put him in the course of the highest 10 when it cycled out, however gave his driver contemporary tires to make up the distinction on the lengthy runs.
In stage two, the decision allowed Hamlin to drive by the sector to win the stage. The identical technique was in play once more within the last stage when Hamlin didn’t pit till 39 laps to go. Once more, at a deficit, he wanted to erase 18s with 25 laps to go to get to the lead.
Hamlin was working sixth with 22 laps to go and into fourth place with 17 laps to go. When the cycle accomplished, as Reddick was additionally on the identical technique, Hamlin was working third and was 6s behind. Then got here the ultimate warning with 13 laps to go, which moved Hamlin to second place coming to pit street.
He left pit street in the identical place, however Reddick stayed out on observe to inherit the race lead and arrange the ultimate run to the end.
“Chris gave me all the things I wanted there to attempt to race him,” Hamlin mentioned. “Simply didn’t get it carried out.”
A victory not meant to be an apart, Hamlin did shut the hole on a switch spot into the championship race. He entered the weekend in a 27-point deficit, however is now 18 factors behind going into the elimination race at Martinsville Speedway (Nov. 3, 2 p.m. ET).
“It’s one other alternative,” he mentioned, “Actually you’re not out of it till they throw the checkered flag at Martinsville.”
