Denny Hamlin Admits He Tried Too Hard at Kansas For 60th Win

Denny Hamlin considers himself the master at thriving amid chaos. The driver received more self-inflicted chaos than he bargained for in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. After the race, the veteran racer opened up about a rare misstep, which kept him from achieving a career milestone, allowed Playoff rival Chase Elliott to score a win, and possibly led to the elimination of one of his 23XI Racing cars from the Playoffs.

With a dominant car, Hamlin encountered mechanical issues, including the loss of power steering and a mistake on pit road late in the race. Those issues seemingly put an end to his bid to win, but Hamlin was able to battle back and had a chance to capture his 60th career NASCAR Cup Series win. Then, Hamlin pushed too hard, attempting to get by Bubba Wallace, and it cost them both.

An absolutely wild finish in Kansas today. Let's watch it again. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/wxJMGeHdX2
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) September 28, 2025

“We had no power steering on the last run and low voltage, just a lot of things. I’m just disappointed because I’ve never had a car that good to the competition. I wanted it for my dad, I wanted it for everybody. I wanted it a little too hard,” Hamlin admitted after climbing from his No. 11 SportClips Toyota Camry XSE.

Hamlin led a race-high 159 laps, swept both Stages, turned the Xfinity Fastest Lap, and looked to, despite the late-race adversity, have a great shot at locking up his second win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

At the very least, it looked like if Hamlin came up short, Wallace, who drives a car co-owned by Hamlin, was going to win to advance to the Playoffs Round of 8. At the end of the final lap of the race, Hamlin and Wallace rolled snake eyes, as Elliott worked his way around the two, as they became entangled in a battle for the would-be win.

All race long, Hamlin was thinking about how big of a full-circle moment it would have been if career win No. 60 came at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway. It wasn't to be.

"Just massive disappointment. I don't know how else to say it. Just massive disappointment. I'm thinking all race, this is our race. I'd love to get my 60th [win] here, at the track where I got my very first start," Hamlin explained. "And I wanted to do it with two different teammates on the pit wall, and it just didn't happen."

Hamlin felt bad for costing Wallace, who won the Brickyard 400 earlier this season and has driven possibly more confidently than in any year of his career, a shot at the win, but says he simply misjudged the turning capability of his car, which was suffering from power steering issues.

While Hamlin says no matter who was on his outside on Sunday, he would have made the exact same move, the 44-year-old says if he could do it over, he knows what he would do differently.

"I would have raced everyone the same way," Hamlin stated. "I'm going for 60. Nobody will ever accuse me of laying over for anyone for a win."

Hamlin continued, "Obviously, not having power steering there was not ideal. And obviously, I got really close to [Bubba Wallace]. If I had to do it all over again, I think I'd run a little bit lower to allow a space between us so I don't get so tight, and try to turn the wheel more."

While Wallace faces an uphill battle at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, as he is 26 points below the Playoff cutline, Hamlin is sitting comfortably 48 points above the bubble with one race remaining in the Playoffs Round of 12. While a 60th career win, which would move Hamlin into a tie with Kevin Harvick for 10th on the all-time win list is the goal, Hamlin is still seeking his first career NASCAR Cup Series championship.

After run-ins with Wallace at Kansas and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs a week before at New Hampshire, Hamlin may want to shift his focus to the bigger picture.

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