Denny Hamlin SLAMS Austin Hill’s crew for “boxing him” during Kansas pit drama

Denny Hamlin was the top candidate for a win in Kansas.

Denny Hamlin SLAMS Austin Hill’s crew for “boxing him” during Kansas pit drama

Denny Hamlin and Austin Hill (Via IMAGO)

The race in Kansas brought back fond memories of the race in Atlanta during the early stages of the season as Kyle Larson won the race in a nail-biting fashion. However, Denny Hamlin was a strong contender for the win and was leading the race but bogged down the field due to a peculiar incident in his pit-box, leading him to finish a disappointing fifth.

Denny Hamlin was leading the race and had momentum on his side, with the win in Dover in his bag. This led him to claim that he would win all the oval races in dominating fashion and looked on course for it at Kansas. However, fate soon turned against him as the JGR driver found himself stuck in his pit-box behind Austin Hill‘s Chevy, costing him precious time.

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The 43-year-old reminisced about how maturely his pit crew acted in Talladega when Joey Logano was leading the race, and he was last. He claimed that it is common sense for both drivers and crews to let the lead car leave if they are not fighting for position, which the Kaulig Racing driver’s pit crew did not follow and cost Hamlin the victory potentially.

It was the same situation with Austin Hill, where he was last, he was the last car on the lead lap. He was not gonna gain anything and I am leading the race, and they boxed me in. It wasn't very courteous for sure. But it's like it seems I don't know why I thought it would just be common sense for driver spotter and crew chief.
Denny Hamlin said in his Actions Detrimental Podcast

It was damage limitation for Denny Hamlin in Kansas

Hamlin led the race for a staggering 71 laps and claimed the stage one win for himself. However, after a botched pitstop, Kyle Larson was gifted the lead and eventually won the race with a gap of just 0.001 seconds. This laid pressure on the No.11 driver to find a way to make his way back to the top spots as he dropped down the field.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Credits: IMAGO)
I’ll tell you, with 70 (laps) to go, it wasn’t looking really good. We had some pit road miscues that set us back, but Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) and the guys did a great job coming up with a strategy there to pit and then jump the field back. We were right on task there with about (seven) to go; felt good about getting another one. It’s just one of those things.
Denny Hamlin said on his podcast

The JGR driver stated that in the last stage, due to the pitstop miscues, he plummeted down the field. But he had the support of his crew chief, who made essential strategic calls that enabled him to recover to P5. Hamlin seemed content with his recovery drive and is aiming for the championship this time around. Moreover, the Florida native is currently sitting fourth in the interim standings with a haul of 411 points, which could increase in the following races.

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