Denny Hamlin dealt devastating setback at Phoenix

For Denny Hamlin, it was pure disbelief in the desert.

Hamlin appeared stunned after Sunday's NASCAR Spint Cup Kobalt 500 at Phoenix International Raceway after he discovered he finished 12th.

He asked crew chief Mike Ford: “Everybody made it on fuel — is that what you’re telling me?”

Ford tried to console his driver. “Good job today, man,” he said. “I know that was ugly. That’s something we’ve got to work on.”

Hamlin replied, “What do we have to work on?”

Despite how solid the No. 11 team appeared at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend when they assumed the points lead from Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team, Hamlin could have a laundry list of questions for Ford on Monday.

Perhaps those were some of the issues Joe Gibbs discussed with crew chief Mike Ford as the team kept the media at bay outside the transporter for 30 minutes after the race.

“He was just wondering how he can help and where we need work,” Ford said of his meeting with team owner Gibbs. “This is a conversation that we’ve had every week, so it’s not a new topic. He was just wondering where we need to go.

“The short-term stuff is we need to make sure we have what we need going to Homestead, and we’ll make sure that we do that. Long term, like I mentioned, we were way shorter here today than what we were in the spring. We need answers for that.”

While management reviewed the chain of events, Hamlin was likely wondering why his team didn’t top off his fuel when the opportunity presented itself during the fifth caution on Lap 237. The top eight drivers in the field at that point -- led by Hamlin -- remained on the track.

Among that group was Carl Edwards, who went on to win the race, and fifth-place finisher Jimmie Johnson. Although crew chief Chad Knaus informed Johnson he did not have enough fuel to go the distance, the driver went into deep conservation mode and salvaged a finish of seven positions ahead of Hamlin.

Hamlin was running second when he pitted on Lap 298 and opted for a two-tire stop and fuel. He dropped to 19th, one lap off of the lead lap. However, with Edwards also conserving, Hamlin was able to regain his lap over the final 14 circuits and improve his position by seven spots.

What Hamlin couldn’t improve was his points position. Johnson's squeaking out a top five enabled the No. 48 team to cut the points deficit to 15 entering the season finale.

“It was pretty disappointing,” Hamlin said. “We were in a good position there to look pretty good going into next week. Now, we just have to go outrace them next week. Good car, we had all that today and things didn’t work out strategy-wise. It’s tough to say what we’ve got to do. We did what we had to do today. We just didn’t have it at the end.

“It’s tough not to be happy with having a point lead going into the last race, but I was sitting pretty.”

Hamlin said he let the competition “right back in there.”

Along with Johnson narrowing Hamlin’s advantage, Kevin Harvick had a pit-road miscue on Lap 224 when the left rear lugnut was not installed properly and his No. 29 team fell from fifth to 18th after a drive-through penalty.

However, Harvick’s position in the back of the pack enabled him to pit on the next caution on Lap 235 and top off fuel so he could go the distance. Although Harvick could not catch Johnson in the closing laps, he finished sixth, six positions ahead of Hamlin, and picked up 13 points to 46 back.

While Hamlin doesn’t have a dominant lead or the momentum he had after Texas, at least he enters Homestead next weekend knowing he’s the defending winner. To lock down his first Sprint Cup title, Hamlin needs to win the race outright or finish second and lead the most laps. Or just finish ahead of Johnson and Harvick in some other scenario.

“I have to leave Phoenix in Phoenix,” Hamlin said. “I couldn’t control this. I did everything I was supposed to do. Things didn’t work out for me.

“I’d rather race next week knowing I need to go out there and I need to win the race than knowing I need to finish 15th. That’s the mentality I’m going to have next week, is to race to win. Full-court press will be on. It will be one of those things where you’ll probably see me as aggressive as I’ve been all year.”