CUP: Four seconds spell the difference in Denny Hamlin’s race, but not his Playoff bid

PHOTO: @NASCARONFOX

by Brock Beard

LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Denny Hamlin picked up the 8th last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway “Roval” when his #11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota was eliminated under the “Damaged Vehicle Policy” (DVP) after 76 of 109 laps.

The finish, which came in Hamlin’s 646th start, was his second of the season and first since Sonoma, 16 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 8th under the DVP, the 42nd for the #11, and the 186th for Toyota. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 12th for the DVP, the 60th for the #11, and the 401st for Toyota.

After a frustrating wreck in Sonoma, Hamlin rebounded with a 3rd-place finish the next time out at Nashville, then landed the historic first pole position at the Chicago Street Course. His second win of the year followed at Pocono – again at the cost of Kyle Larson after late-race contact battling for the lead – resulted in resounding jeers from the crowd. Those “boos” grew louder at Bristol, where the Playoff contender punched his ticket into the Round of 12 with a win at Bristol, declaring, “I beat your favorite driver – all of them.” With finishes of 5th at Texas and 3rd at Talladega, he came to the Charlotte “Roval” in position to make the Round of 8 on points.

Hamlin began the weekend with the 15th-fastest lap in practice, then ranked 4th in Round 1B in qualifying. But in Round 2, he spun in the backstretch chicane, leaving him 9th on the grid for Sunday. Hamlin’s spin prevented Ty Gibbs from turning a lap in his #54 Interstate Batteries All Battery Center Toyota, which would start 10th.

Rolling off 37th and last was Ty Dillon, who was sent to a backup #77 Bon Secours Chevrolet after the primary snapped loose entering Turn 2 and slapped the wall. He’d incur a redundant tail-end penalty along with 36th-place Kyle Larson, who likewise went to a backup after his #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet hit the outside wall working his way through Turn 8. These were the only two pre-race penalties, so Larson would remain in the right lane with Dillon in the left lane.

When the green flag dropped, Ty Dillon was last across the stripe, 6.384 seconds back of the lead, while Larson in the high lane had already pulled into 35th ahead of Andy Lally in the #15 Camping World Ford. By the end of Lap 1, Dillon dropped Lally to last, his crew telling him to take a wider entrance to Turn 1 to not smoke the tires. That time by, Dillon was warned that Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was off the pace in his #47 Harris Teeter / Totino’s Chevrolet. The reason was a bent toe link in the right-rear after hitting the outside wall. The team said they weren’t on the DVP, and so took their time as they immediately fell to last place. Stenhouse returned to the track on Lap 7, showing two laps down.

For the rest of Stage 1, Stenhouse was told his pace was good. The crew’s focus turned to the cars running at the tail end of the field, and whether any would be caught by the leaders, taking away the Lucky Dog. Among these drivers were Erik Jones, who incurred multiple stop-and-go penalties in his ill-handling #43 Allegiant Chevrolet, plus Ty Dillon, who by Lap 22 was 73.25 seconds back of the lead, 3.679 seconds behind the 35th-place running Austin Hill in the #62 United Rentals / Beard Oil Chevrolet. Dillon and Hill soon climbed past Zane Smith, whose #38 Ambetter Health Ford was running 36th, but still on the lead lap, when Stage 1 ended on Lap 26. With that, Stenhouse earned the “Lucky Dog,” moving him to one lap down.

On Lap 36, with the race back under green, Stenhouse himself incurred a stop-and-go penalty for cutting the backstretch chicane, but didn’t lose another lap and continued to show good speed. By Lap 45, the new 36th-place runner threatening to take the “Lucky Dog” was Aric Almirola, whose #10 IHOP Ford plummeted to 67.307 seconds back of the lead, 7.826 behind now 35th-place Harrison Burton in the #21 Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford. But before the leaders could lap any of these drivers, the caution came out once more.

Entering Turn 4 on Lap 48, Corey LaJoie’s #7 Gainbridge Chevrolet got to the inside of Josh Bilicki, who had qualified a solid 28th in Live Fast Motorsports’ #78 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet. LaJoie got into Bilicki’s left-rear, then appeared to stay on the gas, putting Bilicki hard into the outside wall. Understandably upset on the radio, Bilicki made it back to pit road, only to lose a lap in the process. With Stenhouse earning his second “Lucky Dog” under the caution that also ended Stage 2, this put Stenhouse back on the lead lap and dropped Bilicki to last place on Lap 50. Bilicki rejoined the field for the Lap 54 restart, and cleared minimum speed seconds later. The next time by, Bilicki said he was driving the car at a “7 out of 10,” waiting to get the Lucky Dog. During this stretch, his car was running tight on entry.

Also struggling about this time was Michael McDowell, who during the previous caution fell to 36th after a lengthy stop for a failing power steering system on his #34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford. As he neared the stripe to begin Lap 70, McDowell broke loose off the corner, causing a chain-reaction incident behind him that sent Denny Hamlin spinning to the apron. Hamlin continued, only to spin from 21st in nearly the same spot on Lap 76. This time, while facing backward, his car was struck in the right-rear by Mike Rockenfeller, who made his last start of 2023 in Legacy Motor Club’s #42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet. The damage twisted the right-rear wheel of Hamlin’s car, forcing him to pit road. The crew set to work, and as Hamlin lost three laps, he took last from Bilicki on Lap 79. On Lap 80, he re-fired the engine and returned to the track. At nearly the same instant, Erik Jones and Michael McDowell collided in Turn 2, and NASCAR told Hamlin he hadn’t cleared the “Crash Clock.” The team had run over the allotted seven minutes by just four seconds. With that, on Lap 81, Hamlin returned to pit road and pulled behind the wall, stopping at the team’s hauler. Jones followed the next time by, taking 36th.

Hamlin pulls behind the wall after his "Crash Clock" expired. SCREENSHOT: NASCAR Drive

Fortunately for Hamlin, at the time of his first incident with McDowell, he had just locked himself into the Round of 8 on points, thanks to a 3rd-place finish in Stage 2. Thus, the last-place finish had no bearing on his championship run. Bilicki, who was running last when Hamlin wrecked, climbed to a 26th-place finish, but felt his contact from LaJoie ruined a run at an even better finish.

Finishing 35th was Andy Lally, who likewise crashed in Turn 2, then stalled his car at the exit of pit road while trying to return to the garage, drawing a late caution flag. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ended up 34th, still running at the end until his car filled with smoke, the result of a massive fire behind his right-front wheel. NASCAR listed this as an “electrical” issue in the results. Taking 33rd was Daniel Suarez, whose #99 Aguas Frescas Chevrolet was involved in at least two incidents, including contact that sent him backwards into the Turn 8 wall.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*This marked the first last-place finish by DVP in a Cup Series race since March 5, 2023, when it happened to Joey Logano at Las Vegas. It’s the first time it’s happened at the Roval.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

37) #11-Denny Hamlin / 76 laps / dvp

36) #43-Erik Jones / 79 laps / crash

35) #15-Andy Lally / 84 laps / crash

34) #47-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. / 96 laps / electrical

33) #99-Daniel Suarez / 109 laps / running

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Joe Gibbs Racing, Live Fast Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Rick Ware Racing, Spire Motorsports (4)

2nd) Penske Racing (3)

3rd) Legacy Motor Club, Stewart-Haas Racing (2)

4th) Front Row Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, Trackhouse Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (17)

2nd) Ford (10)

3rd) Toyota (4)

2023 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP