Denny Hamlin admits to “unlucky” Pocono race after Chase Briscoe doesn’t run out of gas after all

Having missed out on the Mexico City race, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin made a solid comeback at the Pocono Raceway. However, Hamlin was 'unlucky' at the 400-mile race, and his teammate, Chase Briscoe, took home the win. Later, during a post-race interview, the JGR driver shared his thoughts about Briscoe not running out of gas.

Hamlin holds the record for the most wins (seven) at the 2.5-mile 'Tricky Triangle' track and was aiming for an eighth win at the Great American Gateway 400 on June 22, 2025. Despite securing the pole position, the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver fell one spot short of his 58th career win.

Chase Briscoe last fueled up on lap 119 of the 160-lap race and stretched the fuel to last the final lap, holding off his teammate Denny Hamlin, taking home his maiden win for Joe Gibbs Racing. Reflecting on the same, Hamlin told FrontStretch Media (via YouTube):

"I tried the best I could to, you know, make runs at them. I’d back off, cool, pull them down, try to make another run. As soon as I’d get even one or two car lengths, it just heated the tires up, and then I couldn’t make a move on them." [00:00 onwards]

"Truthfully, I thought we were out of gas, but you know, we just were the next best kind of on our strategy, which I thought was the right strategy. Just got a little unlucky with them pitting and then the caution came out that allowed them to loop the field and get up front and check out," he added.

Chase Briscoe crossed the finish line 0.682 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin, securing 57 points. Hamlin finished the race as the runner-up and was followed by Ryan Blaney in the third spot, Chris Buescher in fourth, and Chase Elliott in fifth place.

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Denny Hamlin got an official playoff waiver for missing out on the Mexico City race

According to the NASCAR rule book, stock car racing series drivers must compete in all Cup Series races to qualify for the playoffs. Notably, the oldest driver on the grid, Denny Hamlin, missed the Viva Mexico 250 last weekend, but the governing body granted him a playoff waiver, considering his absence was due to a medical reason.

Hamlin had competed in 406 consecutive races and missed a Cup Series race for the first time since 2014. Reflecting on the same, the #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver stated on the Actions Detrimental podcast:

"Usually by this time, the performance starts to go away... your performance is tailing off, and I just don't feel that way. I feel as strong as ever and I really wanted to win on 700. Will I be around to see 800? I don't think so. I think that that's probably closing. I don't know. We'll see. I've got to stay at this current level. The minute I feel like it's slipping, I'm out of here." (56:29 onwards)

With 545 points to his name, Denny Hamlin ranks third in the Cup Series standings. Additionally, he has secured three wins, nine top-ten finishes, and eight top-five finishes with one pole position at Pocono Raceway in 16 starts.