Denny Hamlin reacts to broken clutch at Kansas: ‘Very weird’

Denny Hamlin experienced a first in his NASCAR career during Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. Hamlin had issues with his clutch throughout the race and completely lost it while on pit road on Lap 197.

That forced Hamlin to the garage, prematurely ending his race. Hamlin said on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast he has “no idea” how it happened.

“I have no idea,” Hamlin said. “That was the first one I’ve lost. … It lost all of its throw, and it was rock hard. It never engaged. Let’s just pretend the throw is this long, it went to this long and at the bottom of it, it was just rock hard. It stopped engaging.”

With the P36 finish, Hamlin suffered his second consecutive DNF. He had gone 424 starts — dating back to 2013 — without recording back-to-back DNFs. This was the third-most races a driver had ever gone without having back-to-back DNFs (Kevin Harvick, 643, Dale Earnhardt, 424).

Hamlin paid for it in the points standings. He dropped four spots to seventh. His playoff outlook has not changed, however, with two wins through 12 races this season.

“I think eventually just broke the transaxle trying to leave the stall there,” Hamlin told FOX Sports. “Unfortunate for the Progressive Toyota team. Really fast again – just can’t keep it together right now.”

Alex Bowman clears the air after Denny Hamlin beef at Kansas

Hamlin had speed up until he lost the clutch, but the most noteworthy part of his day was his on-track run-in with Alex Bowman. Hamlin, making a pass on Bowman during Stage 2, waved out his window as he drove by.

Bowman responded over his radio: “Tell him to put his hand back in the window and don’t drive me in the fu*king fence next time,” via Jeff Gluck of The Athletic.

Bowman admitted after the race he was in a grumpy mood. He had a great car, finishing P5, but he let his temper rise a bit too far.

“Super fast, got run into the fence, less fast but still kinda fast,” Bowman wrote on X. “Grumpy meter maxed out over here but proud of the team for a top 5 with so much damage.”