It was a season-defining call which will go down in NASCAR Cup Series lore, and maybe it did cost Denny Hamlin that elusive first title. Or maybe it didn't.

The 44-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing superstar was on the very brink of finally winning it all in Phoenix on Sunday, until he wasn’t.

Hamlin was dominant for most of the afternoon in Arizona, leading for more than 200 laps and still holding the edge with just three remaining in overtime.

But one final restart after caution saw Denny lose ground to finish sixth while Kyle Larson in third was able to somehow clinch his second Cup Series title. Despite never leading a single lap on the day.

Key decision for Denny Hamlin

The decision to change all four tires on Hamlin’s car at the final restart will be debated for many years to come, with some experts believing it was entirely wrong given so many of his rivals (Larson included) changed only two).

Despite all the postrace drama and recriminations, one man who is not second-guessing the decision at all is legendary NASCAR pit crew chief and now NBC TV analyst Steve Letarte.

He believes the decision between two or four tires was at worst a coin flip, and that team Hamlin should be able to live with that decision. Hindsight, he says, should not come into it.

Steve Letarte on four tires vs two

Letarte explained: “I thought four tires was the right call. I was thinking about this as I walked down here from the booth. I think Friday affected today.

So I think if Corey Heim, when he took four tires [in the Truck Series championship decider] I was at dinner on Friday watching on a phone, and I thought he had lost the race. And the seven-wide move that won, influenced my opinion tonight. Which was like ‘I would take four tires’.

So here’s what I tell people - and this is a really unpopular statement, but the truth is it’s not just what the right call is, it’s what am I okay losing with. Because what are you gonna be able to lay your head down at night.”

Letarte then described the thought process of a pit crew chief, and outlined the job they are employed to do.

He reasoned: If I’m Chris Gayle [Hamlin’s crew chief], I take four tires and here’s why:

“Denny Hamlin has had a monster day. He has the best car. It’s 20 years in the making. Our jobs on top of the pit box is to deliver the opportunities for our drivers to be a superstar.

“And I believe that if you run this restart five or six times, it’s a coin flip whether four tires works. Everybody’s gonna tell me I’m wrong because the results are in, but I’m telling you if you run this data multiple times, I’m not sure it’s just obvious that four tires lose.

“I think Kyle Larson, who’s in disbelief walking around here like he’s in a dream, isn’t giving himself enough credit for driving badass on two tires.”