Hamlin’s car appeared to come to life as the sun went down, and he drove past Busch to take the lead at the start of the final stage with a brilliant dive into turn one that sparked a fierce side-by-side duel for nearly three laps between the pair.
However, laps 168 and 169 were the only times that Hamlin led the title tilt all night, as Busch’s car got better and better on the long run while Hamlin’s car appeared to fade during the extended stints.
An oversized piece of tape added to the nose of Hamlin’s Toyota on his final pit stop, which came with 58 laps left, doomed the Virginia native’s chances.
His car began overheating and Hamlin was forced to pit again to reverse the change, which put him a lap down to the leaders and ended any hope he had of going for the win.
Hamlin did get back on the lead lap by the checkered flag, but finished 10th as the last car on the lead lap and lowest among the four championship contenders Sunday night.
“I feel like I did all I could,” Hamlin noted. “I don’t think I could have done a better job. I didn’t leave anything out there. For the first half of the race we just weren’t fast enough and we weren’t handling the way we needed to be, and all of a sudden it went to nighttime and we took off. I perked up then and got a little more eager, thinking that we had a chance at this thing.
“Then it just didn’t work out after that,” he added. “I think we had things nailed, with the other two guys running long on their strategy, we were going to be second no matter what and come out just a stone’s throw from the 18 (of Busch). I don’t think it was a do‑or‑die moment, but I think it was an opportunity that Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) saw to catch everyone off-guard, and we did that. It just didn’t matter because of the tape.
“He (Gabehart) was going for it, and I don’t fault him for that at all.”
Despite the disappointment for Hamlin of missing out on what would have been his first Cup Series title, he still carried a smile at a banner year that saw him score six wins and make the Championship 4.
“At the beginning of the week, I told everyone we were going to celebrate our year,” Hamlin said. “Our year was fantastic in every way you can think of, and it just didn’t pan out in one race in our favor. It’s just been a great year. We won 19 races as an organization. That’s the most in this era. That’s a good thing. In the world where we just keep getting more common with everything … JGR continues to set itself apart, and that’s thanks to the people and the effort that they’re putting in.
“I think that this whole year really says a lot about our organization, even though my team wasn’t the one that took home the big trophy tonight.”