All through a lot of the Coca-Cola 600, William Byron was a relentless on the very entrance of the sphere, however so was Denny Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 53 laps, second solely to Byron in that class. However when the checkered flag flew, he was scored sixteenth because the final automobile on the lead lap.
Hamlin, who received the Coke 600 in 2022, was operating second in the course of the remaining cycle of green-flag pit stops. Nonetheless, after getting again out on monitor, he was confronted with some troubling information as he didn’t have sufficient gas to achieve the checkered flag.
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet; Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Picture by: Logan Riely / Getty Photos
Through the pit cease because the fueler put the second can in, it by no means truly linked correctly and gas started to spill all around the floor. Hamlin may solely hold racing, helplessly hoping for a warning that by no means got here. He lastly pitted with 12 laps to, giving up the third place on monitor as eventual race winner Ross Chastain had already handed him.
He had few phrases to share after the race, and when requested if there must be a dialog with the workforce, Hamlin mentioned: “I imply, they’re the professionals. I am not a pit man, however I attempted to do all the things I may for the Nationwide Debt Toyota Group. Enjoyable battling up entrance. It was a heck of a battle there and would have appreciated to see it by means of, however sadly simply did not get sufficient gasoline in it and needed to come again in.”
Sadly, errors on pit street will not be a brand new phenomena for Hamlin, who has been vocal about different points up to now, saying his crew was in a “stoop” final fall as errors held him again in the course of the 2024 playoff run.
Learn Additionally:
On this article
Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
Be the primary to know and subscribe for real-time information electronic mail updates on these matters
Subscribe to information alerts
