March 28, 2026, Martinsville, Va, USA: DENNY HAMLIN 11 of Chesterfield, VA gets ready to qualify for The Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Martinsville USA - ZUMAa161 20260328_aaa_a161_045 Copyright: xWalterxG.xArcexSr.x
March 28, 2026, Martinsville, Va, USA: DENNY HAMLIN 11 of Chesterfield, VA gets ready to qualify for The Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Martinsville USA - ZUMAa161 20260328_aaa_a161_045 Copyright: xWalterxG.xArcexSr.x
Denny Hamlin finished the Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in runner-up position. For the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, it was a disappointing result as he narrowly missed out on victory for the third time in five races.
Hamlin started the race in fourth place. On Lap 20, he took the lead by capitalizing on second-placed Chase Briscoe's error and executed a clean pass on Carson Hocevar. The three-time Daytona 500 winner stayed in the leading pack until the end.
Unfortunately, in the final four-lap shootout to the end after a restart, he simply couldn't pass Chase Elliott, who won his second race of the season. While speaking to the media post-race, the No. 11 JGR driver reflected on his race. He explained how he could have risked it all, but chose not to avoid crashing and ending both drivers' races.
May 3, 2026, Saginaw, Texas, USA: Racing chevrolet Chase Elliott 9 celebrates after winning the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Texas Sports - May 3, 2026 PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY - ZUMAg270 20260503_zsp_g270_025 Copyright: xCodyxGrubbsx
May 3, 2026, Saginaw, Texas, USA: Racing chevrolet Chase Elliott 9 celebrates after winning the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Texas Sports - May 3, 2026 PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY - ZUMAg270 20260503_zsp_g270_025 Copyright: xCodyxGrubbsx
"I got the first part of the restart really well," Hamlin said via NBC. "Just, he got that push from the 48 (Alex Bowman) right there right entering turn 1, and it was just enough to slow my momentum and pick his momentum up. Really close – just not quite enough."
The 45-year-old also described his feelings about nearly missing out on several potential wins, adding:
"These mile-and-a-halves have been really, really good for us on this 11 team and all of the Toyotas, really. We're doing a great job with what we’ve got, and I wish we'd get the wins with as fast as we are, but we’re still putting together good races."
Denny Hamlin finished the race just 0.407 seconds behind Elliott. As far as the drivers' championship is concerned, the JGR driver currently stands in second place with a 102-point deficit to Tyler Reddick.
Denny Hamlin gives credit to Chase Elliott after Texas battle
Hamlin and Elliott put on a show for the audience at the Texas Motor Speedway, battling for the race lead down to the wire.
Despite his frustration of not winning, Hamlin gave credit where credit was due. "The 9, you have to give them props on how fast they were when they got out front. That was all that we had to try to be able to keep up in that third stage."
"It comes down to when we have these restarts, and you lose one spot here, one spot there, next thing you know, the guys you were really battling on speed are two cars ahead of you, and now you have to try to pass cars that are more equal on speed. We weren’t that dominant to be able to do that," he added.
For Denny Hamlin, it was a third near-miss this season after finishing runner-up to Elliott at Martinsville and getting unlucky at Kansas with an ill-timed, penultimate lap caution that sent the race into OT when he was about to win.
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Written by
Chionia Libania Colaco
Edited by
Yask Kotak