Denny Hamlin reacts to disappointed Las Vegas outing despite top 10 finish, eyes Homestead for redemption

NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin left frustrated despite scoring a P8 finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The first race of Round of 8 had been challenging for Hamlin, which included pit road issues and fuel saving at the end.

After the race, Denny Hamlin expressed his disappointment with his results, as he knows that he missed the opportunity to score a win. He admitted that they struggled to execute strategies and things didn't go smoothly at the 1.5-mile Vegas track after losing track position early in Stage 1.

“Just not a clean day," Hamlin told NBC Sports. "That certainly kind of sums it up. You’ll have that. We’ll just do the best we can to get the best finish. I thought (crew chief) Chris (Gabehart) did a great job trying to get some sort of finish.

"Once we lost the track position early, he was doing everything he could to try to get it back through some alternate strategy. It goes long there; we fall back to the back. Just part of it.”

Denny Hamlin, the driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, started fourth in the South Point 400. He was running fifth, but a slow first pit stop at Lap 33 during green-flag stops cost him track position. He fell from fifth to 14th.

The 43-year-old Florida native admitted that his form had dipped and execution hadn't been as strong as they were in the first half of the season. However, he is optimistic to bounce back and win at Homestead next week.

“Certainly, we’re not running quite as strong as what we were earlier in the year. We’re definitely not as clean execution-wise as what we were. Just got to clean it up, go to Homestead, and try to win it,” Hamlin continued.

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Is Denny Hamlin on the verge of NASCAR playoff elimination?

After a P8 finish, Denny Hamlin finds himself fifth in the championship standings and 27 points below the elimination line. Things would be tough for him if he had any setbacks in the remaining two Round of 8 races. He needs to race clean to avoid any last-minute technical issues or wreck.

The best way for the #11 JGR Toyota driver to advance to the championship 4 race is to win either at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week or at Martinsville Speedway next month.

Hamlin will look for redemption at Homestead to stay alive in the battle to win his first NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 10.