NASCAR star Denny Hamlin admitted he's numb and still in shock after losing out on the Cup Series championship in devastating fashion.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star totally dominated the championship race, leading for 208 of the 312 racing laps at Phoenix Raceway and was cruising to victory with four laps to go.
However, a tire blowout for William Byron brought out a caution with three laps to go, sending the race to overtime. Under the caution, Kyle Larson - who appeared to be down and out at one stage - opted for only two tires which gave him track position over Hamlin, who opted for four.
Crucially, however, several other drivers opted for the two-tire strategy, meaning that whilst Larson came out of pit road in fifth, Hamlin was down in 11th.
Ultimately, even on four tires, it proved too much work to do for Hamlin in two laps, eventually finishing sixth, three spots behind Larson, whose third place was enough to secure his second Cup Series crown.
Hamlin reacts to devastating championship defeat
Reacting to the devastating defeat post-race, Hamlin admitted: “I really don’t have much for emotion right now.
“Just numb about it because I’m just in shock.”
The Joe Gibbs Racing star added: “We were 40 seconds from a championship. It’s just unfortunate.
“The only difference before is the cautions came maybe a little sooner than that, but I don’t know. It’s just … gosh. You work so hard.
"It’s just this sport can drive you absolutely crazy because it’s just that sometimes speed, talent, all that stuff just does not matter.”
Hamlin: Preparations were perfect
With a win at Las Vegas early in the round of eight, Hamlin had been afforded extra time to prepare for Phoenix and boy did he make it count.
The No. 11 was clearly the fastest car on track on the day, but that makes losing out on the chip hurt even more.
“Everything I really prepared for happened today,” Hamlin said.
“And I felt like we responded, losing track position at one point and just battling back. Did really well on restarts; hadn’t been good on restarts for the bulk of the year.
“The team brought a great championship car, and I felt like I drove it just right up until two laps to go. This is the part that stinks.”
