[autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag] passed [autotag]Chase Elliott[/autotag] in the closing laps of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, but a caution stacked the field back up. Hamlin was the control car but lost the lead after a quick caution. Then, the No. 11 car battled Elliott down the backstretch after the restart before getting loose and crashing in Turn 3.
Hamlin came home with a disappointing 30th-place finish and discussed the incident after the event. Obviously, it wasn’t Elliott’s fault, and Hamlin took the blame on Sunday.
“It just got loose up in Turn 3,” Hamlin said. “It’s something I’ve been fighting really kind of all day. And then, when you got to push it the most on a green-white-checkered, I knew that the likely scenario is I wasn’t going to make it out of the corner with as much speed as I was carrying. But it’s trying to go for the win, so I just got loose and spun out.”
AROUND GOES HAMLIN! 😳 pic.twitter.com/3ZMHp8T5Rm
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 14, 2024
“We just couldn’t get it going [on the top lane]. We had to be on the bottom, and we were in a good spot to win. We just had so many untimely cautions when we were out front and then that one where we lost control [of the race], that certainly was not helpful.”
Hamlin was searching for his third NASCAR win of the 2024 season, but it will have to wait another week. The driver of the No. 11 car had the victory before a late-race caution stole it away. It’s disappointing for Hamlin, but Elliott benefited the most. Now, Hamlin will look toward Talladega Superspeedway as his next opportunity for a victory.
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