Denny Hamlin knew it was bad news when he walked into the room Thursday and saw Toyota officials, owner Joe Gibbs and crew chief Chris Gabehart together.
“They didn’t enjoy that moment any more than I did,” Hamlin said Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Hamlin was informed Wednesday about the need for a meeting, set to happen Thursday. Toyota Racing Development (TRD), represented by David Wilson, Tyler Gibbs and Andy Graves, had to inform the No. 11 team it would be penalized for an engine infraction. NASCAR handed down the punishment Thursday afternoon by docking Hamlin points from the regular season (75) championship and the playoffs (10). Gabehart was fined $100,000, and the victory from Bristol Motor Speedway does not count toward Hamlin’s postseason eligibility.
Toyota self-reported to NASCAR that the winning engine from the March 17 event had not followed NASCAR’s post-race protocol. It was disassembled and rebuilt instead of being torn down and inspected by officials.
Hamlin dropped from third in the regular season championship points to sixth. The penalty took him from 28 points behind the leader to 103, and he went from having 21 playoff points to 11.
“No point matters until it does; that’s the truth,” Hamlin said. “The couple of years we’ve missed the cut from the final four, it’s been the Hail Melon (Ross Chastain’s move at Martinsville in 2022), and we had the power steering break at Homestead (last year), so it comes down to a couple of points here and there.
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“It just means that we’re going to have to be that much greater when we get down to the second and third round.”
During the meeting, Hamlin had questions. Mostly, it was the how, what and when of it all. He knew that Toyota did not want to bring him into a room and tell him that his season was about to be upended, but he did admit that an incident like this can motivate a team. Now, though, he doesn’t need motivation, just results.
“I certainly don’t feel any better than I did finding out in the moment,” Hamlin said a day after the news came out. “It’s really hard in this kind of format when you work so hard in the regular season to get all those bonus points. It’s really tough to see them just wiped away, but it’s part of it and we have to overcome now.”
Now, the attitude shifts to, “So what? Now what?”
The penalty does not take Hamlin out of the postseason, as his two other victories from Richmond Raceway and Dover Motor Speedway lock him in. There are two races left in the regular season to regain some bonus points that he can fall back on, if needed, to advance in the playoffs.
“You have to just figure out what’s the best path forward, and the best path is just to win, right?” he said. “Win and make sure you can finish races the best you can. Obviously, our room for error is gone now, and we just hope to get through the rounds.”