History repeated itself at Kansas Speedway for Denny Hamlin. Despite being in contention to win the AdventHealth 400, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver couldn't position himself well during the closing stages of the race.

Hamlin was the dominant force at Kansas, leading 131 laps. However, near the end of the 268-lap race, Cody Ware spun out, bringing out the caution, which meant that the race was thrown into overtime.

During the restart on lap 273, Kyle Larson was also part of the leading pack and the four-way fight to the finish. Larson, on the inside of the second row, drove up alongside Hamlin on the front row, forcing the JGR driver to take the middle line, putting him in a vulnerable position. During this tussle, the HMS driver and Tyler Reddick, who was on the outside, overtook Hamlin, who eventually settled for fourth.

In the post-race interview, Jamie Little asked Denny Hamlin what the most frustrating part of the race was.

"I mean, obviously, it’s not winning," he replied. "It’s Cody Ware, six laps down, wrecking, I don’t know, just added up. I fell for the same move that the #5 got me for a couple of years ago when I was on the inside, so I gotta learn from those mistakes that I’m making and not executing those last few laps."

In the last two years, Kansas has witnessed Denny Hamlin lose potential wins late in the race. In 2025, he fell short of his 60th Cup win after late contact with Bubba Wallace. The year before that, the 23XI co-owner was overtaken by eventual race winner Kyle Larson in a similar fashion to Sunday.

Denny Hamlin’s Crew Chief Speaks Out on Kansas Near-Miss

Denny Hamlin won Stage 1 of the Cup race at Kansas and was second in Stage 2. However, his efforts were undone in overtime, when his closest competitor, Kyle Larson, who led 78 laps, got better positioning.

Getting forced into the middle lane after the restart cost Hamlin. His crew chief, Chris Gayle, explained the situation in detail.

"I think Denny is just mad and wishes he hadn’t taken the bottom and had taken the top because it’s a little different in overtime," Gayle told Nascar.com. "When [Larson] lines up behind you, there’s some history of [him] not pushing because it’s a two-lap shootout and nobody is going to give pushes like they would have earlier in the race because they can split and go three-wide. Maybe you at least force somebody to push you if you take the top, I think is the issue there.”  

After nine races, Denny Hamlin stands second in the Cup Series championship. He trails championship leader Tyler Reddick, who won his fifth race of the season at Kansas, by 105 points.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yask Kotak