Denny Hamlin pounded the wall off Turn 4 early in the final stage of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase opener at Darlington Raceway, ending his chances to contend for his fourth Cook Out Southern 500 win as he slid to an 18th-place finish.
Hamlin got loose exiting Turn 4 shortly after the final stage began in the first race of The Chase presented by Mobil 1. He was then contacted from behind by Michael McDowell, turning the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota into the wall right-front-first.
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The field scrambled to avoid Hamlin, who slid to 20th place, the final car on the lead lap, after the contact.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating for sure,” Hamlin said. “You know, those are the kind of incidents that I’ve avoided for the most part this year. It was avoidable, but it also was part of everybody fighting for their own finishing position.”
Hamlin entered the race as the No. 1 seed in The Chase, NASCAR’s 10-race postseason that will crown a champion based on points. As the No. 1 seed, Hamlin carried a 25-point advantage over second-seeded Ryan Blaney before the event began.
Hamlin restarted 16th to begin the final stage after a sluggish pit stop at the conclusion of Stage 2. His No. 11 JGR pit crew struggled to get the right-rear wheel tightened, triggering an extended stop that cost Hamlin 13 positions after finishing the second stage in third place.
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Hamlin continued without immediately pitting for repairs but told crew chief Chris Gayle he believed his right-side toe links were broken. Hamlin was lapped by race leader Kyle Larson at Lap 266.
The No. 11 crew worked to make repairs under caution after Zane Smith spun at Lap 283. Crew chief Chris Gayle confirmed the right-front toe link was bent but the right-rear toe link was not. The car may have sustained damage to the lower control arms or upper control arms, Gayle radioed, but the damage was not significant enough for the team to tell or adjust. Hamlin returned to competition one lap down in 30th place.
Hamlin was able to climb back through the field to finish 18th, scoring 35 points in Sunday’s race — the eighth-most of all competitors. Hamlin walks away with a 12-point advantage over race winner Christopher Bell in the Chase standings heading into the next race on Sept. 13 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).