“We were really bad”: Denny Hamlin scrutinizes JGR’s Richmond lapse, credits Toyota Camry as the “only reason” for a “fortunate” result

Denny Hamlin had a frustrating night at Richmond Raceway. He finished 10th, struggling with mistakes on pit road and a lack of execution from his team. Speaking after the race, Hamlin acknowledged that the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing crew underperformed and said that only his Toyota Camry's speed kept him in the top 10.

The race was supposed to be another opportunity for Hamlin to add to his long record of strong runs at Richmond. Instead, it turned into a fight for recovery.

“We were really bad on the pit lane. I sped. Team had a lot of bad stops, and this track – you can’t give up track position, and we did. I thought we were fortunate to get back to the top-10 there. The only reason we did is we had a fast Camry,” Hamlin told NBC Sports.

Denny Hamlin has built a career reputation at Richmond as one of the most consistent drivers there. Since 2006, he has had three Cup Series wins there and frequently led laps. His most recent top-five finish at Richmond came in March 2024, when he finished seventh after starting on pole and leading 17 laps. That history is why a 10th-place finish with no laps led feels like a step back for the veteran.

Richmond, Virginia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway- Source: Imagn

Mistakes have also been costly in previous Richmond races. In August 2024, Hamlin started on pole, led 124 laps, but ended up 23rd after issues derailed the night. The pattern repeated this time, with performance in the car good enough to contend, but execution problems preventing a top result.

Richmond’s struggles now leave Joe Gibbs Racing with questions heading into the upcoming stretch of races. For Hamlin, who has 58 career wins and remains one of Toyota’s top drivers, the focus will be cleaning up pit road mistakes and turning strong cars into stronger finishes. He’ll get this opportunity in the 160 laps of the upcoming Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 24.

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Denny Hamlin recalls the race that left him in “bad, bad shape”

In a recent interview with Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, Hamlin revealed which race he considered his most miserable. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver pointed to last year’s Cup Series race at Iowa. What made the event so difficult was his physical condition, not the car or the competition.

Hamlin explained that he entered the weekend with a fever and severe back pain. The pain was so intense that his jackman had to ease the No. 11 car down carefully during pit stops to keep him from being jolted inside the cockpit.

Denny Hamlin said:

“Pain-wise, I’ve had some bad ones. Arguably the worst was Iowa last year. No one really knew about it, but I came down with a fever, which weakened my body, and then I threw out my back. I remember during pit stops telling the jackman, ‘You can’t just drop the jack — you need to squeeze it down.’ I was in bad, bad shape.”

He went two laps down early in the race and could not recover. Unlike other tough races that often become discussion points on his Actions Detrimental podcast, this one was barely mentioned afterward. Hamlin acknowledged that he tried to move past it quickly.

“No, just blew that over. I went two laps down to start that race because I felt so horrible,” he added.

At 44 years old, Denny Hamlin is in his 20th full-time season as a part of NASCAR’s Cup Series. He is ranked third in the Cup Series standings with 766 points, 73 behind the leader, William Byron.