Denny Hamlin was half a lap away from taking the white flag in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas, one that seemed largely decided between himself and Tyler Reddick, but then Cody Ware cut a tire and spun out.
Shake the snow globe!
Hamlin retained the lead off pit road, with most of the frontrunners taking just right sides, but lost it on the restart when he didn’t get the best launch. This allowed Kyle Larson to take him and Tyler Reddick three-wide. Reddick then fenced Christopher Bell before overcoming a nearly one second deficit to win the race.
But again, Hamlin had the race won, even retaking the lead from Reddick, who sputtered due to a fuel pump issue before the Ware spin that flipped everything on its figurative
“I need Cody Ware running dead ass last not to wreck." - MRN
“It’s Cody Ware, six laps down, wrecking, I don’t know, just add it all up.” - FOX
However, the race was lost on the restart and Hamlin conceded that too.
“I know in my mind the restarting on the top was the place to be but the (data) said bottom,” Hamlin told reporters on pit road after the race. “In these green-white-checkered scenarios, you can throw the numbers out because everything is so different.”
Hamlin says he knew deep down that Larson was going to take them three-wide because that’s within his very successful aggressive playbook.
“I have to recognize that I know (Larson) is going to do that move, and I have to make sure that if it happens, I do everything I can to let (Reddick) win,” Hamlin said. “I got beat by that a few years ago and knew in my mind that the top was the place to be, but the numbers say the bottom. In these green-white-checkered scenarios, you can throw the numbers out. I will certainly learn a lesson there.
“It’s a double-edged sword. I need the push, but I know that the first opportunity, [Larson is] going to go bottom, so I need to do everything I can. If that happens, then the 45 wins, which he did.”
Meanwhile, Larson had the race won and then lost it in equal parts too but didn't come across as disappointed as Hamlin. He said he recognizes he only had a chance because of the late restart so he’ll take what he was given on Sunday.
“The restart worked out perfect for me,” Larson said. “Denny was stretching away and (Brad Keselowski) gave me a tap and let me rebuild my momentum and was able to do a later move getting to the inside of Denny into 1. (Reddick) had to protect his outside, so it made him go the long distance. I got clear of the lead and was happy — really happy.
“But then I went down into [Turn] 3 and I couldn’t carry the throttle and speed; I was super tight and didn’t get through there like I needed to. Tyler had a big run behind me and knew I was going to be in trouble either lane I went.”
And that’s how Reddick closed the gap so quickly, even after squeezing Bell into the wall.
“I mean, for me, in my line, I was trying to run as close to Christopher,” Reddick said of the contact. “It's tricky. I think halfway through the corner, I thought maybe we'd be side by side. It got pretty obvious with Denny on my inside, I was getting tight. I knew Christopher was going to, like, probably clear me.
I don't know, inside of Denny. He was closer to me than I thought he was going to be. I can't even remember if there was contact or not. It kind of felt like it. But these cars do take off really bad tight.
“Where I was in relation to the 11, we were close together. My car kind of took off off of two. As a driver, I wish you could say you could prevent those things from happening. These cars take off so tight, so fast, I was kind of helpless. Couldn't do anything to keep the contact from occurring.”
He was cognizant, in real time, that he did Bell wrong.
“So that one in the moment stings, and you just have to put it behind you really fast and go and win the race,” Reddick said. “I was glad we were able to get back to the 5. I was really surprised we had that kind of grip on those right sides, but I took advantage of it and was able to make the move.”
