Hamlin got around Alex Bowman with seven of 160 laps remaining and trailed leader Ryan Blaney by about two seconds. Until Blaney inherited the lead with 44 laps to go, Hamlin had led the most in the race (31).
It took a couple laps, but Hamlin did begin to close on Blaney but never could get in position for a pass for the lead before Blaney left with the victory by 1.312 seconds.
On his next to last pit stop, Hamlin lost nine spots on pit road and spent the remainder of the race having to make up that critical ground.
“Never lose a race, just always run out of time, right? That’s just part of it. Track position is such a big thing,” Hamlin said. “When the (Blaney) jumped (to pit early) on that stage that we won, that put them in front of us.
“Certainly was going to be hard to pass. Just not enough laps of green there towards the end but hats off to them. Great run.”
Hamlin said Blaney’s ability to get away quickly on the three restarts in the final 38 laps left him at a disadvantage.
“He kept great pace up there towards the front. Really hard for me to even try to get close to reeling him in,” he said. “Shame we couldn’t get to Victory Lane. Another day.”
Although Hamlin came up short on another Pocono win, the runner-up finish was a welcome respite from his recent string of poor finishes.
In his five races prior to Sunday, Hamlin had finished 24th or worse four times with a best finish of 12th at Nashville. That streak included a blown engine on his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on lap 2 at Sonoma, Calif.
“We were in such a terrible slump. We were terrible for a month and a half or so in our finishes, not in our performance,” he said. “Feels good to have at least a solid day leaving here.
“I only care about winning, but still this kind of rebound is something that at least makes you feel a little better.”
Hamlin did gain ground in the race for the regular season championship, however.
With five races remaining before the playoffs, he remains fourth in points but only 20 behind new leader Chase Elliott.
