Denny Hamlin admitted he didn’t feel much emotion Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway, but the post-race scene told the tale.
Hamlin took the time to sit in his car on pit road with a blank look on his face after the checkered flag in the Cup Series finale before climbing from his bubble and joining the rest of the world. He acknowledged those who walked up to him be fore eventually walking to his pit box and putting his arms around some of his pit crew members.
Upon returning to his car, Hamlin leaned against it, still staring, and hugged family and friends. There were more hugs when he walked to a waiting golf cart, greeted by his daughters.
Hamlin, who started from the pole, dominated Sunday’s season finale and Cup Series championship race with a stage win and 208 laps led, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was four laps away from the championship when a caution sent the race to overtime.
Ryan Blaney won the race. Kyle Larson, on two tires, beat Hamlin off pit road and beat him for the championship.
“I really don’t have much emotion right now,” Hamlin said. “I’m just numb about it. Just in shock. That’s about it.”
Sunday was his fifth appearance in the Championship 4, the elimination format introduced in 2014. It is the second time he’s finished runner-up.
In his career – now at 20 full seasons – Hamlin has finished second or third in the championship five times.
“We were 40 seconds from a championship,” Hamlin said. “It’s just unfortunate. The only difference before is that the cautions came maybe a little sooner than that. I don’t know. Gosh, you work so hard, and this sport can drive you absolutely crazy because sometimes speed, talent, all that stuff just does not matter.”
The ninth and final caution came with four laps to go, erasing a 3.3s lead Hamlin had over Blaney. Fellow title contender William Byron was running third when he blew a right-front tire and hit the wall. Under the caution, three drivers stayed on track and took the top three spots in the running order: Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, and Alex Bowman.
Hamlin came off pit road seventh with four tires. Larson came off pit road second behind Blaney, on two tires.
The final restart put Larson on the outside of the third row and Hamlin on the inside of the fifth row. Larson finished third in the race while Hamlin crossed the finish line sixth.
“I hate that it came to some chaotic late-race restart where we were the dominant car and didn’t get the win,” Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gayle, said. “For a second, I could think, ‘Oh, well, if I took two tires…’ I don’t know if that would have worked. The No. 5 was doing … this was their only shot, and it really was going to dictate how many other cars stayed [out] and who fit between [us].
“Four tires was the right call; he just didn’t get clear on the bottom, and I thought for a split second we were. The No. 5 got the outside run, and then it’s just boxed in with chaos a little bit.”
Gayle admitted his post-race emotions and priority was on how Hamlin and the team handled the loss.
“The only thing I said to him was he prepared like a champion,” Gayle said. “He’s not going to walk away from here with the trophy, but he prepared like one. He did everything he could do all weekend, the three weeks leading up, really all year, and even though he doesn’t have the trophy, I feel like he’s a champion. That’s it.
“I’m not worried about me at this point; I’m worried about those guys that are upset. All the team guys, everybody who works full time, and Denny, who has been at this for a long time and deserves it.”
The championship would have meant a lot to Hamlin, who wanted it for those around him, including friends and family. His father, Dennis, is ill and watched the race from home. Hamlin felt it was his last chance to have his father see him win a championship.
When asked what he would tell his father about Sunday’s race, Hamlin said that he did his best. He praised the car his No. 11 team brought, calling it a championship car, and felt he drove it right until the last few laps.
“Kyle Larson has the trophy, but we dominated,” Hamlin said. “We did our job. We did the best we could. They’re a championship team and a championship driver, and they’re going to win a heck of a lot more than these two. But when everyone had to bring their best, I think it was evident who was the best today.”
One of the final questions he faced during post-race media obligations was about the future of the playoff format. Given how much is at stake in a championship race, Hamlin was asked whether it should end at the scheduled distance rather than in overtime.
“I don’t know,” Hamlin said. “Golly. In this moment, I never want to race a car ever again. My fun meter is pegged.”