Denny Hamlin Blasts Cody Ware for “Heartbreaking” Kansas Race Loss to Tyler Reddick

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin laments over the 2026 Kansas Cup race loss to his own driver Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing.

Denny Hamlin Blasts Cody Ware for “Heartbreaking” Kansas Race Loss to Tyler Reddick

Denny Hamlin, Cody Ware and Tyler Reddick (Images via motorsport.com)

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas witnessed a win slipping through the hands of Denny Hamlin for the second straight season at the venue. This time, the JGR veteran made the wrong call with the restart position and his own driver, Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, took advantage of it to secure the win. In 2025 it was the clash with Bubba Wallace that cost him.

Talking to Fox Sport after the race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver shared feeling about results and revealed the heartbreaking moment from the event. He admitted that it was the Cody Ware wreck, with six laps left in the race, while he was on good pace at P1 that hurt him, as this helped both Reddick and Larson to get back to contention.

JL: Denny, this is probably the most frustrated and heartbroken I’ve seen you. What was the most frustrating part of those closing laps?

DH: I mean, obviously it’s not winning. It’s Cody Ware, six laps down, wrecking. I don’t know… it just added up.

Denny Hamlin told Jaime Little of Fox Sports.

Furthermore, he admitted that starting the restart ahead of Kyle Larson instead of staying at the top was also a mistake. Denny Hamlin should have learned from the previous years where he was outrun by the No:5 Hendrick Motorsports car on the situation. He didn’t and the poor execution hurt him in the most important moment of the race.

It’s just, you know, I fell for the same move that the 5 got me with a couple years ago when I was on the inside. So, I’ve just got to learn from those mistakes that I’m making and not executing in those last few laps.

Denny Hamlin added.

During the last lap battle, the No:11 Toyota Camry made contact with the wall, and he was asked about how that might have played a role in him scoring just a P4. The veteran admitted that the runoff on turn-19 made him hit the outside wall but asserted that it didn’t affect him pace enough to make a difference.

JL: Did you get into the wall?

DH: Yeah, I had a big runoff in Turn 19. I think I was probably on four tires there, so there wasn’t a whole lot of room—but I wasn’t going to lift. So, I just got in the wall, but it didn’t really affect the finishing position.

Denny Hamlin asserted.

Chris Gayle explains what Denny Hamlin regret the most about the restart

On his media session after the race, the crew chief of the No:11 team Chris Gayle shared his thoughts on the situation. He admitted that he should not have taken the bottom and given Larson the advantage in the restart. They should have remembered there won’t be any push from drivers around him in such situations.

Chris Gayle and Denny Hamlin
Chris Gayle and Denny Hamlin (Via big14news.com)

I think Denny is just mad and wishes he hadn’t taken the bottom and had taken the top because it’s a little different in overtime. When [Larson] lines up behind you, there’s some history of [him] not pushing because it’s a two-lap shootout and nobody is going to give pushes like they would have earlier…

Chris Gayle said.

The comments from the JGR officials shows the team would have been on the victory lane if not for the mistake. They need to get their act together for the coming race weeks, be solid with the decision making as well execution to be contenders for the championship in 2026.

Also Read: Michael Jordan Can’t Wait to “Trash Talk” Denny Hamlin over Tyler Reddick’s Kansas Win