Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin‘s bad luck continued as yet again he failed to produce a convincing performance despite having one of the best cars in the garage. He started the season by winning the LA Clash, but once the season was officially started with the Daytona 500 he has been crashing left and right.

This Sunday in Phoenix was no different. He started on the pole and led over 67 laps, and with just 100 laps left in the race found himself in a battle for the lead with Tyler Reddick. The No:45 driver races for Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team. Hamlin pushed his car a little too much in an attempt to take the lead, lost control of it, and spun into the infield. He admitted to the media that it was his mistake.

Just felt like there was one or two cars, the 20 at times, the 45 at times. The 20 really probably had the best car, best driver all day. The 45 was right there and then kinda us. Unfortunately, just the restart I spun out and that was it had to go to the back with 100 to go and that was all we had. Yeah I got beat on a few restarts by the 45 on the high side so I decided to try to keep pushing the entry as much as I could and just couldn’t hold my line there. Hamlin told Fox Sports about the incidnet.

Still, the veteran was able to mount a comeback and secure a top-10 finish marking the return of Toyota that struggled in the first few races of the season. All Joe Gibbs Racing cars and Reddick led laps on Sunday in Toyota, showcasing the major improvement they have made after a disappointing start to the year.

Denny Hamlin gave a positive verdict of the new Next-Gen Aero package

The Phoenix race was the first Cup event of the 2024 season to use the new Next-Gen car aero package that has been in development. The drivers were given 55 minutes of practice to test and most weren’t happy about it. It didn’t fix the traffic problem in short track as expected.

But after the race Hamlin had some positive reviews about it. He pointed out that though it wasn’t the perfect solution, it was better than the old package. Hamlin urged the sanctioning body to make a few more changes to end the issue forever.

I’m not super disappointed for sure, [I’m] overall optimistic that we found something that was a little better coming to this racetrack than what we had. Just need to be a smidge better then we’ll be right there. Hamlin said.

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST
Pressure mounts on Nuggets as Nikola Jokic wins third MVP Award
Jalen Brunson shakes off injury to lift Knicks to Game 2 win
Panthers dominate Bruins to even series
LSU HC pins transfer portal struggles on reluctance to 'buy players'
Pirates announce date for 2023 No. 1 overall pick's MLB debut
Shohei Ohtani showing what would happen if he only focused on hitting
Joe Burrow shares 'support' for Bengals who requested trades
Canucks erase three-goal deficit to stun Oilers in Game 1
Watch: Pacers star ties playoff high in threes in one half
Former NFL player has major warning for Steelers QB Justin Fields: 'You can't fall into this'
Watch: Brad Marchand hurdle Panthers player on Charlie Coyle goal
LeBron James rues 'missed opportunities' against Nuggets
Cardinals star gives update on timeline for injury rehab
Police investigating Patrick Beverley incident
J.J. Watt addresses possibly ending retirement to play for Texans
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi could surpass two major MLS records
Reporter weighs in on potential Giants quarterback controversy
Cowboys to release veteran WR
Lakers want Anthony Davis' opinion in search for next head coach
Patriots exec explains why team drafted two QBs in 2024 NFL Draft

Want more sports news?

Join the hundreds of thousands of fans who start their day with Yardbarker's Morning Bark, the best newsletter in sports.