Denny Hamlin found another heartbreaking way to lose Brickyard 400

In what could very well be his second-to-last chance to win the Brickyard 400, Denny Hamlin once again came up short of victory in excruciating fashion. 

After taking the lead from Corey Heim on the second-to-last restart of the race, Heim turned the tables on his car owner and snatched it right back on the final restart with 34 laps to go. 

Hamlin faded back to fifth, where he eventually finished the race. The Brickyard 400 remains the lone crown jewel race in NASCAR that Hamlin is yet to win.

What went wrong for Denny Hamlin?

"Everyone's trying to fight to win the race," Hamlin told TNT. "When you're clear by an inch, you're going to take that inch. It's really more on us and the 20 and the 19 not orchestrating good pushes there, became detached at the wrong time. I thought the 20 was on board with getting us the push, it was just way too early before the restart zone.

"That's how you lose 'em. These restarts, when everyone knows when you're going to go, it's about the pushing. That's essentially where I got the lead the restart before. It just came back the other way around. I maybe was in there in turn 2 and he shut the door."

Hamlin's final shot at a Brickyard 400 win will come during the 2027 season, after which he is expected to retire.