AVONDALE, Ariz. – Denny Hamlin’s team put its “best effort forward” Sunday at Phoenix Raceway, but combined with a car that lacked speed, it wasn’t enough to deliver Hamlin a long-sought NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Hamlin finished fourth in the championship race, behind race winner and champion Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.
While he ran near the front most of the day, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the only member of the Championship 4 not to lead at any point in the 312-lap race.
“[I’m] certainly disappointed,” Hamlin said. “But you know, you’ve got to make sure you put your expectations kind of in check in the sense of … our organization hasn’t really been very good on the short tracks this year. It’s kind of a learning period for us. … We had no mistakes today, and I did everything I possibly could.
“I think with our best teammate (Martin Truex Jr.) running 10th and the other guys (Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports) having two teammates (finish) ahead of our best one, [we] just our car didn’t have enough speed to go out there and compete.”
Hamlin started in the second row but placed outside the top 10 in stage one. He went on to place fourth in stage two behind his fellow title contenders.
Around lap 201, the start of the final stage, it began to sink in for Hamlin that the No. 11 team would “need special circumstances to go our way.”
Unfortunately for Hamlin, who won seven races this season, the caution never waved during the final segment.
“We just didn’t have enough car potential for us,” Hamlin said. “Our balance was not bad, maybe a little bit off, but just not enough in reserve. … Our organization has got to get a little bit better on these types of tracks, and especially it being … the deciding factor in the championship.
“We’ve just overall got to get a little bit better.”
Sunday’s race capped off a two-year stretch for Hamlin where he won 13 races, tied with Kevin Harvick for the most of any driver in Cup, and made the Championship 4 both years.
But Hamlin, who turns 40 later this month, remains the winningest Cup driver of the modern era (44 wins) without a championship.
“[I’m] pretty proud what this team is doing and what we’re building towards,” Hamlin told NBC after the race. “Proud of the effort. We’ll come back and do it again next year. … We’ll win as many races as we possibly can to get ourselves back in Phoenix again and with another shot [at the title].”