In-race execution has repeatedly hindered Denny Hamlin’s 2026 Cup Series championship bid during The Chase. Still, with four races remaining, he sits second in the standings and remains firmly in contention for his first title.
After charging into the top 10 within the opening 35 laps of Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hamlin saw his progress unravel during a competition caution. The No. 11 team was boxed into its pit stall by Connor Zilisch and the No. 88 crew, dropping Hamlin outside the top 20 after he started 13th based on the metric. His afternoon took another hit when a team member stumbled over the wall while retrieving a rolling right-front tire, triggering a safety violation that forced Hamlin to restart at the rear of the field.
“I wish we would have qualified. Certainly, I felt like we could have gotten a little better pit selection and wouldn’t have had the 88,” Hamlin told USA Sports after the checkered flag. “They worked with us the whole race, Connor and his team. We’ve got to pick up the performance.”
In an opening stage that plagued half of the 16 participants in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 field, Hamlin rallied to 14th position while championship leader Kyle Larson dominated en route to his ninth stage victory of the season. The No. 11 Toyota made another charge through the top 10 to third position by the end of the middle segment, which included knocking Larson out of the way on a Lap 123 restart. The No. 5 car fell to seventh, but drove up to fourth by the end of the stage.
Hamlin spent much of the final stage running in the back half of the top five as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell traded paint on the final lap, with Briscoe securing his second victory in as many weekends. Hamlin surrendered positions to Ryan Blaney and Josh Berry in the closing 10 laps, settling for fifth. It marked his second top-five finish in the three-race intermediate-track swing.
“Just the long-run speed, and obviously, it tanked there the last 15 laps or so,” Hamlin said. “Just didn’t have the long-run speed that we need. Thought the short run was OK; it was decent. Just felt like we were a lot better once it was daytime and once it cooled off and the track got a little bit faster, we lost the edge that we had.”
Hamlin remains second in the championship standings but conceded another nine points to Larson, leaving him 49 points behind with four races remaining. He holds a narrow two-point advantage over Bell and sits 16 ahead of Briscoe, who has surged four positions in the standings while gaining 58 points on Larson over the past two races alone.
“Got to execute better, get a little faster – all of the above,” Hamlin concluded. “Ultimately, we’re giving it all we’ve got right now.”
The series heads to Phoenix Raceway next weekend where Hamlin dominated the fall race last year, leading 208 of 319 laps. He finished fifth in the spring race back in March, fourth-best among the drivers who currently hold down the top five positions in points.