Denny Hamlin's Playoff Hopes Are In Jeopardy After Watkins Glen Struggles
2 months agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin finished 23rd after a day full of struggle in the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International. Starting from the 22nd position, it didn't take long for misfortune to find Hamlin on the race's first lap, and he got involved in a multi-car accident, leaving him with damage. As a result, Hamlin placed 34th at the end of the first stage and used the first stage break of the day to have his team continue making repairs. In the second stage, Hamlin returned onto the lead lap and spent the entire stage off of pit road. This allowed the No. 11 Toyota driver to make it back to 10th by the end of the stage and gather further stage points. In the third stage, Hamlin made a three-wide move for position against Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski on lap 47, which sent him to the wall, giving the No. 11 car more damage. Hamlin was still able to continue after this incident but spent the rest of the race limping the car to a finish one position off of his starting position. Hamlin's finish of 23rd would be his worst at the Glen since 2015. Now behind the playoff cut line, Hamlin will need a strong performance at Bristol next weekend, a track where he has four wins in 34 career Cup starts.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com