Denny Hamlin Gets Real On His 2026 Kansas Heartbreak

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Denny Hamlin Gets Real On His 2026 Kansas Heartbreak

Originally posted on RFKRacingDigest
By Chionia Libania Colaco | Last updated Apr 21, 2026 2:09 PM ET

Denny Hamlin’s dominant run at Kansas Speedway ended in overtime heartbreak on Sunday.

On Lap 266 of the race, Cody Ware spun out, bringing out a caution that threw the race into overtime. A late restart forced the Joe Gibbs Racing driver into a four-way battle with Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and Tyler Reddick. Hamlin ultimately finished fourth after losing momentum in the middle lane.

Hamlin recently opened up about his race on his podcast Actions Detrimental. He said, “I had fallen to about two seconds back from the lead, which is not insurmountable. Like when I need to hit the gas at the end of a Kansas race, I usually can get a little more than what I’ve been doing all day.”

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This came as he reflected on his expectations heading into the closing laps at Kansas.

He added, “I was really looking forward to those last few laps because Tyler was struggling once he got back in front of me. He was fighting the car. When he got in the wall and I was able to get around him, I thought it was game over at that time, but it wasn’t.”

During his last two outings at Kansas, Hamlin has been trying to break his curse of not winning at the track. During the 2024 race, he was overtaken by Larson in a way quite reminiscent of Sunday. In the 2025 race, late contact with Bubba Wallace ended his contention.

Denny Hamlin Praises His Team Amid Near Miss at Kansas

Hamlin praised his Joe Gibbs Racing #11 crew despite the result.

In the same podcast episode, he discussed the pit stop and his crew chief, Chris Gayle. Hamlin said the stop was slightly slow due to an adjustment, but Gayle’s strategy was to put him ahead and make Tyler Reddick chase.

He added that when Reddick took the lead, the car began to get loose, showing how quickly balance can shift. Hamlin noted they short-pitted the field and pulled away from everyone except Reddick, with the team doing its part to give him a chance to win.

Hamlin currently stands in second place in the drivers’ championship, just 105 points behind the leader, Reddick.

This article first appeared on RFKRacingDigest and was syndicated with permission.

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