Hamlin locks up top Chase seed despite messy New Hampshire run

Denny Hamlin officially clinched the Chase’s No. 1 seed on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but that was far from his mind on a day where his No. 11 team failed to execute to its best ability.

After spending most of the season trying to chase down early frontrunner Tyler Reddick, Hamlin spent the opening moments of the race where he officially clinched the regular season title struggling to avoid him. Reddick had qualified on pole for the Dollar Tree 301, but pressed too hard on the gas off of Turn 4 after rain left the racing surface wet to begin the race and slid around on the opening lap.

That sent Reddick sliding up to the outside wall and left Hamlin with nowhere to go. The Virginian got his No. 11 Toyota slowed and nearly avoided any contact, but suffered a light brush that meant he was considered caught up in the crash.

That little designation made a big difference. It sent Hamlin to the rear, kicking off a day that saw him spend the whole 301 laps trying to battle back to the front.

The dry-to-wet opening stage presented enough opportunity for Hamlin to battle back to 20th. By the end of Stage 2, he was up to ninth. But just when Hamlin was creeping into contention, a miscommunication on pit road saw his No. 11 team late to put tires on the car, costing Hamlin track position.

In the end, that was the final blow for any chances Hamlin had of running up front. The 45-year-old crept his way back into the top-10, but had to settle for seventh at race’s end.

“It was tough,” Hamlin said of his day. “We were pedestrian today. Just didn’t quite have it. That miscue at the beginning lost [us] track position really early. Then the pit stop thing, just miscommunication there.

“Ultimately, a decent claw back. But I live week-to-week and I focused on this track. … We’ve got to get better here, for sure. We haven’t had it the last couple [trips].”

While the New Hampshire result was disappointing, that it still ended with a solid top-10 showed the year-long consistency Hamlin’s No. 11 team has managed. The result was Hamlin’s 17th top-10 in 25 races. He has an average finish of 8.1 and sits 77 points clear of Ryan Blaney heading into the regular season finale.

Blaney went on to win Sunday’s race, continuing a strong recent show of form from Team Penske. But Hamlin still feels good about where his No. 11 team is heading into what could be his best opportunity to secure an elusive Cup Series title.

“These are our bad days - bad-ish,” Hamlin said. “But I feel good about where our team’s at. Everyone’s kind of clicking well. We don’t have a whole lot of weaknesses. It’s just [that] we’re not as strong as the [Team] Penske cars on these type of race tracks.

“Martinsville [Speedway], we are good. Phoenix [Raceway], we’ve been good. It’s just over the last few [races], this has not been a strong three-or-four weeks. And when I say not strong, it’s top-fives and top-sevens. So it’s something we can work with, and the mile-and-a-halves are certainly something that has been our strength for a couple years now.

“I’m looking forward to getting the Chase started and seeing where it goes.”

With the regular season title locked up, Hamlin enters the Chase with a 25-point lead on the second-place driver and an ever-increasing advantage on the rest of the field. The Chase will get underway in just two weeks, when the Cup Series ventures to Darlington Raceway for the Southern 500.