Denny Hamlin comes up just short of fourth Daytona 500 win

"I thought we were in a great spot many times in the last 10 laps," Hamlin told Fox Sports. "I measured up the No. 2, (Austin Cindric) got a run on him, and stayed with him enough where I could control what side I wanted to pass him on. We had pulled away from the pack slightly, so I knew a run was going to come."

"I chose not to block them. In these races (superspeedway/drafting races) you have to live to make it off of turn four, and we just didn't. I understand everyone's trying to go for it. But in those situations, we gotta make it off of (turn) four. We never made it and someone else won. I don't even know where (race winner William Byron) was running." 

Had Hamlin won Sunday's race, he would've become just the third driver in history to win four Daytona 500s, joining an exclusive list comprised of Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty. 

Hamlin was credited with a 24th-place finish on a day when he earned zero stage points. The future Hall of Famer will enter the second race of the 2025 season at Atlanta in a slight points hole as he attempts to capture his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.