Maggie Mackenzie Mon, October 26, 2026 at 2:40 AM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denny Hamlin survived Talladega Superspeedway. Unfortunately for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, surviving wasn't nearly enough.
Hamlin finished eighth in Sunday's YellaWood 500, a result he would have gladly accepted before the green flag. But when Kyle Larson charged from outside the top 10 to win on the final lap , Hamlin's afternoon suddenly looked a lot less encouraging.
He climbed to second in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings, yet somehow left Alabama 73 points behind Larson with only two races remaining.
Hamlin entered Sunday's race knowing how easily Talladega could wreck a championship campaign. He avoided the worst of the chaos , collected a top-10 finish and remained in contention until the final lap.
Under normal circumstances, that would qualify as a successful afternoon.
"If you asked me to start the day would I take an eighth, I mean, probably," Hamlin said afterward.
"It's disappointing, but also like our day could have been a shit ton worse. We didn't get stage points. We tried, but it's just lots of games going on. It's really, really tough to do it."
Hamlin had an opportunity to finish considerably better.
On the final lap, he was pushing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. toward the front and believed the two had a legitimate chance to fight for the victory.
Hamlin explained that he was committed to staying behind Stenhouse because he trusted the driver to make decisions that benefited his own race rather than follow Chevrolet's preferred strategy.
That plan unraveled when contact from Todd Gilliland knocked Hamlin into Austin Hill, costing the No. 11 Toyota its momentum.
As Hamlin slipped backward to eighth, Larson surged through traffic and stole the win.
The outcome was particularly frustrating because Hamlin actually gained two positions in the championship standings.
He now sits second, ahead of Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe, but Larson's 73-point advantage presents a much bigger problem than his position on the leaderboard suggests.
Asked whether he could overcome the deficit, Hamlin offered a candid assessment.
The 45-year-old also expressed frustration with NASCAR's Next Gen car and the fuel-saving tactics that have become central to superspeedway racing.
His criticism reflected a difficult afternoon in which track position, manufacturer alliances and late-race momentum all played significant roles.
For Hamlin, the most frustrating part may be that he did so much right. He stayed out of serious trouble, put himself in position for a strong finish and still watched his championship prospects take a hit.
Martinsville now offers his next opportunity to respond.
But with Larson holding a commanding lead and only two races left, Hamlin can no longer afford to settle for merely surviving.
Source: Sports
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