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Qualifying Wreck Dampens Hamlin's Shot at Crown Jewel Sweep

Originally posted on Racing America on SI
By Joseph Srigley | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 5:52 PM ET

Denny Hamlin has managed to put together a career worthy of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, without a doubt, but the one race in particular that has eluded the Chesterfield, Virginia-native throughout his two-decade career is the Brickyard 400.

With four NASCAR Cup Series victories on the books this season (Martinsville, Darlington, Michigan, and Dover), plus a newly-signed multi-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing, the momentum is definitely on the side of the 44-year-old driver.

But, after qualifying, things have gotten a little more difficult…

Hamlin looked to be on an incredible lap in Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with pace to secure the pole, when his No. 11 Progressive Toyota Camry XSE snapped loose at the exit of Turn 2.

The 58-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winner smacked the wall quite hard off of the second corner and spun down to the inside of the racetrack, where he made another significant impact with the inside SAFER Barrier, destroying his primary racecar.

Now, Joe Gibbs Racing will have to unload their backup car for the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE, and thrash to get things prepared in time to take the green flag in Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Hamlin will start the crown jewel event from 39th.

That’s two HUGE impacts for @DennyHamlin, who was tracking to secure the pole for the #Brickyard400.

The No. 11 will start from the rear of the field tomorrow at IMS.pic.twitter.com/yeAjHW9dnW
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) July 26, 2025

“Just the last, one second there. I saw that other guys had issues there and the wind picked up which made for a pretty tight condition off of Turn 2,” said Hamlin. So, if you’re not pointed correctly, it’s not going to turn, and I wasn’t pointed correctly.”

In the 28-year history of the NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there has never been a driver to win the Brickyard 400 from a starting position worse than 27th, a mark set by Jeff Gordon in 2001.

With track position destined to be at a premium on Sunday, Hamlin believes it’s going to take some big breaks for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team to get back into contention to win the 2025 running of the Brickyard 400.

“I’ll just have to do the best that I can,” Hamlin added. “There’s nothing I can do to change the outcome for tomorrow, just give it the best I can, try to get all the points I can. The stage points will probably be a near impossibility from where we’re starting, we just got to try to get the best finish we can.”

Throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career, Hamlin has made 16 total starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has resulted in five top-five and eight top-10 finishes. The veteran driver has come close several times, including 2020, where he blew a tire from the race-lead after pacing the field for 19 laps.

Aside from a championship in the NASCAR Cup Series, the Brickyard 400 is the one major vacancy in Hamlin’s incredible resume. Should the driver of the No. 11 get to Victory Lane on Sunday, he will become the fifth driver to win in all four of NASCAR’s crown jewel events – the DAYTONA 500, Coca-Cola 600, Southern 500, and Brickyard 400.

The list of drivers who have accomplished this feat over the course of their NASCAR Cup Series careers is mega: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, and Kevin Harvick. Can Denny Hamlin join this incredible list on Sunday?

This article first appeared on Racing America on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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