“Still very very bummed”: Denny Hamlin trying to walk tightrope between owner and driver after Tyler Reddick’s Homestead win

Denny Hamlin reacted to 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick winning at Homestead-Miami as he missed the victory by a small margin. He expressed his frustration upon not winning and mentioned what he would do if he did not make it to the final four.

Reddick converted his pole position to victory, also winning the first stage of the Straight Talk Wireless 400. He locked himself up in the Championship 4 alongside Joey Logano. Meanwhile, Hamlin narrowly missed out on the win by a small margin. He led the final laps of the race, actively battling Ryan Blaney. However, Reddick closed up and left both drivers behind.

Hamlin is also 23XI's co-owner, so the result was a mix of emotions for him. While he is still chasing his first Cup Series Championship, he had the pleasure of witnessing one of his cars making it to the final 4.

Reacting to the race result, Hamlint mentioned that he was "bummed" upon not winning.

"I'm still very very bummed and dejected. Certainly it's the balance that I have, you know, I'm still locked in you know here for the next seven days to make sure that I put my best efforts forward to to go win Martinsville," Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

He further mentioned that if he does not make it to Championship 4, he will watch the final race at Phoenix as an "owner fan" and cheer for Reddick. However, he added that he was disappointed to not win the race as he would not have a chance to win the championship forever.

"If we don't make it then certainly I'll be a owner fan for the last race in Phoenix. But yeah, I mean I'm only going to be a driver for a certain amount of time longer, right? So these opportunities are really really hard to come by and yeah I'm just more disappointed," he added.

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Is the NASCAR title looking difficult for Denny Hamlin once again?

Hamlin is one of the most celebrated drivers in NASCAR. He has won 54 races since his debut in 2005. Driving the #11 Toyota, the 43-year-old has come close to winning the title multiple times in his career; however, difficult racing circumstances have consistently derailed his championship aspirations.

Heading into Martinsville for the final race before the NASCAR showdown at Phoenix, Denny Hamlin is placed 6th in the standings. While the top two positions are locked by Reddick and Logano, Christopher Bell and William Byron are on the positive side of the table.

Winning at Martinsville would be the best scenario for Denny Hamlin. Any other outcome could prove challenging, especially considering he's behind three other drivers, including Kyle Larson, who has dominated this season.