'That's what kills my enthusiasm': Denny Hamlin reflects on the new 'normal' after last-lap Daytona 500 chaos

Denny Hamlin recently expressed his frustrations regarding the last lap of the recently concluded Daytona 500. The 54-time Cup Series winner was gunning for his fourth Daytona 500 victory but was taken out in a crash on the backstretch coming to the checkered flag.

In the most recent episode of his "Actions Detrimental" podcast, the 44-year-old walked his audience through how he put his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in a prime position to win "The Great American Race". As he maneuvered his way to the front of the pack, the Chesterfield, Virginia native said moments like those led him into NASCAR.

Unfortunately for him, it didn't turn out in his favor. Hamlin said:

"I love that I made the choice to make a few moves, it paid off, I'm leading the race on a green-white-checkered. This is why I got into NASCAR racing, is that I spent decades learning how to do this and watching the best and studying it and understanding it and I'm going to get rewarded for this, and then we all crash at the end," Hamlin said on his podcast (30:06 onwards)

Hamlin's #11 machine was tagged by Cole Custer's #41 Haas Factory Team Ford, which set off a multi-car wreck on the backstretch. William Byron managed to sneak through the carnage in his #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and scored his second straight Daytona 500 win.

For Hamlin, a win would've put him among the NASCAR greats as he would have joined Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough as the third driver to win at least four Daytona 500s. However, the co-owner of 23XI Racing finished in 24th and said it's become the norm of "The Great American Race" to crash on the final lap, adding:

"That's what then kills my enthusiasm for this whole thing. This is what I wanted to do as a kid and I reached the top level and I was about to get my fourth. It was no guarantee, but I was gonna have a really good shot at getting my fourth and putting myself in elite company with the greats of our sport, that won it by the way when there was two cars on the lead lap. It's a different world now and it's hard to put yourself in that class. It's frustrating because I don't know what else I do different," he added (30:41 onwards)

Denny Hamlin seeks elusive first Cup Series championship in 2025

NASCAR: Duel 2 at DAYTONA - Source: Imagn

Denny Hamlin has already accomplished more than most as he enters his 20th full-time NASCAR Cup Series season. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver still aims to win his first Cup Series title.

Hamlin has come close multiple times, most notably finishing runner-up to Jimmie Johnson in 2010. He's made four Championship 4 appearances in 2014, 2019, 2020, and 2021, but failed to win the title in every season.

Hamlin has missed out on the Championship 4 the past three seasons despite making the Round of 8 in all three campaigns. With 54 career victories, Hamlin has the most wins by a driver who doesn't have a Cup championship.