“I Only Got 50 Some Races Left!” Denny Hamlin Bemoans Frustrating Kansas Loss
Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin has revealed how much the Kansas Cup Series race loss to Tyler Reddick has hurt him.
Denny Hamlin (via Imago)
The ASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Kansas was a disappointing night for Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin. He was just a handful of laps away from winning the race, driving upfront with his main rival Tyler Reddick running out of fuel, when Cody Ware spun out, sending the race to overtime.
On the restart, he could keep the pace against the like of Reddick and Kyle Larson. The No:45 team secured their fifth win of 2026, while the No:11 team settled for a disappointing P4. Talking about it, the veteran admitted that it was a disappointing moment as he continues to miss out of securing more wins, as his retirement comes close.
Man, it’s so frustrating. I took this one a little tougher just because it’s like, I wanna capitalize. I only got 50 some races left and it’s like, man, I wanna get these wins when I should be winning.
Denny Hamlin admitted on his podcast.
The 44-year-old Denny Hamlin is expected to race in the elite division for one more year before calling it quits, and he is determined to add to his 71 wins tally. The major hiccup in the way to accomplishing that goal has been execution mistakes in strong weekends like Martinsville and Kansas. They have to clean up their mistakes if he wants to secure 80+ wins in Cup.
It’s just not happening. The loose wheel at the end of Martinsville — just a lot of stuff that’s just not going great in the luck category or the create your own luck and not executing category, which is what I chalk most of this up to.
Denny Hamlin added via Actions Detrimental.
Denny Hamlin reveals Michael Jordan wants to see his beat the most
In the same podcast, Hamlin talked about his business partner Michael Jordan doesn’t always want him to win races. In events like the Kansas race, where the 23XI cars are in the fight for wins, MJ is backing the No:11 team to loss. It was evident in the basketball legend’s post-race interview where he took cheeky shot at the 23XI co-owner hinting ta trash talks.

Michael said, ‘Yeah, I’m worried about the 11 (Hamlin). Denny said he’s going to win, and I’m worried about the 11’. I was like, ‘I thought the 45 (Tyler Reddick) was quite a bit better than us in practice, but we’re good at making overnight adjustments.’
Denny Hamlin said.
Talking about it, Hamlin admitted that the trash talked a lot with the NBA legend before the weekend as he knew that it was either him or 23XI car that was going to be on the victory lane. He pointed out that when it comes to race week, MJ wants to see him beaten like majority of his rivals.
So, he probably was very happy because I was telling him all weekend that we were going to win. He’s very happy because of how much s**t I talked to him, actually. I know it’s hard to believe, but I talk a lot of trash to him. He probably wants to beat me as much as anyone.
Denny Hamlin added.
The comments from the veteran racer shows the competitive dynamic among the friends and how that’s has been the key behind his success as well as the five win dominant season 23XI is having in 2026. It would be interesting to see how the rest of year is going to playout for the ownership duo.
Also Read: “He’s Been Telling I’m Washed Up!” Kyle Busch Threatens Denny Hamlin Yet Again Over RCR Criticism