“This was a different era” - Brad Keselowski shares his take on Denny Hamlin’s lesser-known DNQ from 2008

Brad Keselowski has opined on Denny Hamlin's 2008 DNQ at the Darlington Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver eyed to clock the quickest time in his #18 Toyota, the fastest car on the asphalt, but slammed into the outside wall, leaving the qualifying lap incomplete.

Hamlin was running a full-time Cup Series schedule and part-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, now known as the Xfinity Series. The Florida native was the polesitter at the 1.366-mile oval for the past two years and gunned for his third consecutive front spot start.

However, after crashing into the outside wall at around 178 mph, the #18 was damaged to such an extent, it couldn't cross the start/finish line.

16 years after Denny Hamlin failed to etch his third consecutive pole, NASCAR insider Colby Evans shared the qualifying lap video and questioned why the JGR driver couldn't make it to the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 race.

Keselowski explained that it "was a different era" and the cars were hard to tame. The RFK Racing driver also mentioned witnessing qualifying sessions with over 10 crashes as drivers found the car difficult to control.

"No hate for Denny here. This was a different era, these cars were absolute beasts to drive. I remember multiple qualifying sessions where 10+ cars would crash. The drivers would literally get out of the cars shaking. I’d say 50 out of 330 [million] Americans could drive these cars. Tops," Keselowski wrote via X.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sided with Keselowski's rationale and added his thoughts.

"If I was nervous before a race (and I always was) I would say multiply that by 10 for each qualifying session. Atlanta or Texas 2008 was wild times," Junior wrote.

Though Hamlin couldn't secure his place in the 2008 Xfinity race, two years later, he redeemed himself by bagging a win at the Darlington Raceway.

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Denny Hamlin surged from P21 to P6 finish during the same weekend at Darlington Raceway

Even though Denny Hamlin failed to make way for his Xfinity race, he qualified for the Dodge Challenger 500 Cup Series race slated for the same weekend. However, his qualifying didn't churn a promising result and the JGR driver kicked off his 367-lapper from 21st place.

Despite starting in the rear, the #11 Toyota driver upset the drivers who started ahead of him. This included Jimmie Johnson (P3), Kurt Busch (P5), Bobby Labonte (P10), Tony Stewart (P4), and Scott Riggs (P9), among others.

Hamlin improved his pace through the race, led 15 laps, and marked his seventh top-10 finish by securing P7.

Meanwhile, his then-teammate Kyle Busch reigned supreme. After starting sixth and dominating 169 laps, the Nevada native bagged his third win of the season. However, as the year progressed, Busch's performance suffered a blow and he wrapped his 2008 season in 10th place.

On the other hand, Denny Hamlin settled two places above in P8.