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Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson faced another disappointing finish during Sunday’s exhilarating two-lap sprint to the finish line. Both drivers have experienced their fair share of near-victories, only to find themselves falling short once again.
Hamlin, who had a commanding lead in the Daytona 500 with mere moments to spare, was taken out of contention in a late-race incident. Meanwhile, Larson found himself caught in a precarious three-wide scenario during a caution at Atlanta, which ultimately prevented him from seizing victory.
At Phoenix, both drivers were determined to prevent Christopher Bell from claiming his third straight Cup Series win. A late caution presented a critical opportunity for them to challenge Bell. As they entered the final corner, Hamlin gained a slight advantage, but Bell launched his car deep into the turn, pushing both Hamlin and Larson up the track. Hamlin fought hard to avoid crashing into the wall, ultimately indicating that he had anticipated such a finish.
“We got a good restart,” Hamlin noted after the race. “The 5 [Larson] really gave me a great push on the frontstretch on the restart, down the backstretch. I kind of had position on the 20 [Bell]. I knew he was going to send it in there. He had to use me. Obviously, we just ran out of racetrack there.”
Hamlin characterized the end of the race as a “great finish,” praising Joe Gibbs Racing for their impressive 1-2 placement.
Larson’s Strategic Patience in the Final Moments
Once again, Larson found himself navigating a tense three-way battle for the top spot. As the JGR cars veered into the wall in the last corner, an opportunity nearly opened for him to slip through. He made contact with the back bumper of Bell’s vehicle while crossing the finish line just 0.097 seconds away from victory.
“I felt like that was my only hope,” Larson remarked, reflecting on his strategy during the race. “Yeah, I felt like I made the correct decisions there. I don’t know, I’d have to look back at it.”
Larson also had a chance to make a bold move entering Turn 3 just before the white flag but opted to play it safe instead. He chose to push Hamlin forward and kept close behind the two JGR drivers right until the end.
“I thought being patient to try and keep them side-by-side down the back was good,” Larson explained. “I could have shot to the bottom, but I felt like I would have wrecked everybody there. Just trying to give ourselves a shot for them to maybe get into each other and us to squeak by… Good to finish third.”
Notable Finish at Phoenix
This finish became the second-closest in Phoenix race history, trailing only the unforgettable 2016 finale where Kevin Harvick edged out Carl Edwards by a mere 0.010 seconds.
Photos from Phoenix Race
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Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
Denny Hamlin
Christopher Bell
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