“It’s not over yet”: Denny Hamlin confident about resurgence at Bristol despite playoff blow at Watkins Glen

Denny Hamlin is confident about his revival at Bristol Motor Speedway after calamity struck his #11 Toyota, twice at Watkins Glen. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver survived the opening lap pileup but derailed for the second time on Lap 46 and finished 23rd.

Hamlin kicked off his run at the Go Bowling! at the Glen from 22nd. As he followed along with the pack through the inner loop, a pileup transpired from Kyle Busch and Corey LaJoie's contact. The #11 Toyota driver tried to escape the carnage but his right front crashed into Busch's right rear.

Nonetheless, the JGR driver quickly resumed his run and pitted for repairs under caution. However, on Lap 46, another incident shattered his odds of catching up with the frontrunners. A three-wide battle transpired between Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin.

The #11 driver, while running on the outside line, thought Keselowski would back off from the battle as he was slightly behind the other two. However, that didn't happen, and the RFK Racing driver's #6 Ford got squeezed and crashed into Hamlin's Toyota. The JGR driver finished 23rd, ahead of five playoff drivers.

"It's not over yet. It's not over till the end of Bristol and obviously, we're going at a track we know how to perform," Hamlin said via Dustin Long on X.

"I'm really proud of the effort that they have ruined. (Ran) mid-30s all day long and then finished 23rd there due to some attrition and a good late restart," the 54-time Cup Series race winner added.

Denny Hamlin won the last two races at Bristol Motor Speedway and has led a combined 305 of the 1000 laps ran.

"To finish 23rd, I guess is a positive": Denny Hamlin reflects on his Watkins Glen run

Disappointments have plagued Denny Hamlin's 2024 playoffs. He started from the rear at the Cup Series playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway due to a post-qualifying plug wire change. Moreover, he lacked the pace all race long, and the final lap crash dropped him to a 24th-place finish.

During the Watkins Glen qualifying, the #11 driver oversteered at Turn 1 and lost valuable seconds. As a result, he started 22nd. Moreover, the two incidents significantly damaged Hamlin's car even before half of the 92-lapper was done and dusted.

However, he received a free pass in the warning laps which helped him avoid the chaos ensuing in the late race cautions.

“Great effort to keep us in it. Obviously, the car is just destroyed. To finish 23rd, I guess is a positive. We were in a worse place that mostly all day and luckily, we had some attrition at the end that helped us out,” Hamlin said via NASCAR.

Denny Hamlin is placed 13th in the playoffs and will enter Bristol with a six-point deficit over the elimination line.