Denny Hamlin’s Chase Lead Takes Massive Blow After Darlington
· Yahoo Sports
Denny Hamlin’s quest to win an elusive first NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2026 got a little trickier following the Chase opener at Darlington Raceway. After disastrous contact with Michael McDowell in the final stage, the driver of the No. 11 wound up finishing 18th at “The Track Too Tough to Tame.”
Hamlin entered the Chase with a 25-point lead over Ryan Blaney after winning the regular-season championship. Following Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500, the Joe Gibbs Racing star now holds only a 12-point gap over new second place Christopher Bell, his JGR teammate.
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Bell scored his first win of the 2026 Cup Series season on Sunday night at Darlington. The triumph was not just significant for being Bell’s first Darlington win and second Crown Jewel race victory, but for the Chase standings.
Contact with Michael McDowell led to Denny Hamlin’s difficult night at Darlington Raceway
The first half of the race went swimmingly for Hamlin and the No. 11 team. The 45-year-old placed third in Stage 1, earning him eight points, and third again in Stage 2 for another eight points. As the field got set for the final stage, Hamlin was in position to build on his points lead.
That was until a slow pit stop mired the 64-time Cup Series winner back in traffic. Now trying to battle through the pack on the ensuing restart, Hamlin was hit from behind by McDowell’s No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet coming off of turn 4.
The contact nearly wrecked Hamlin’s No. 11 JGR Toyota as he slapped the outside retaining wall and tried to gather it up as he headed into turn 1. While he did not spin out, Hamlin knew the situation was dire as he sounded the alarm over his team’s radio.
“‘The toe links are gone,’ Denny Hamlin says on radio to team while running 20th at Lap 242 after contact from behind by Michael McDowell sent Hamlin into the wall,” wrote NASCAR reporter Dustin Long via X.
Hamlin fell off pace in an effort to preserve his car, ultimately falling a lap behind. However, the No. 11 team was able to make repairs during a caution period and maintained only being one lap down. In the end, Hamlin got his lap back and finished 18th.
Stage points keep Hamlin’s Cup Series points lead alive
Hamlin lost some of his gap to second place for the championship, but it could have been worse.
The 16 stage points Hamlin garnered between Stages 1 and 2 proved to be huge. Had Hamlin not earned any stage points, he would have left Darlington four points behind Christopher Bell, who would have taken over the points lead.
It goes to show that every point matters, especially in the battle for the championship. Hamlin, who lost the 2025 Cup title despite leading the championship race with three laps to go, knows that all too well.