Denny Hamlin was still racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday when his NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes officially came to an end.
And he found out over the radio.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver entered Sunday’s season finale hoping to chase down Kyle Larson in the championship standings. But the title fight took a decisive turn during Stage 1, when Chase Briscoe suffered an engine failure and Larson collected enough points to clinch his third Cup Series championship.
For Hamlin, that meant an abrupt change of plans. There was still a race to finish, but the championship was no longer on the line.
His team delivered the news shortly after the opening stage ended.
Denny Hamlin Told Kyle Larson Had Clinched NASCAR Championship
Hamlin’s team informed him that Larson’s fourth-place position when the caution came out had settled the championship.
“The 5 was P4 when that caution came out, so that was enough stage points for us to focus on the win from here on forward,” Hamlin was told over the radio.
It was a straightforward message with a difficult reality behind it.
Hamlin could no longer catch Larson in the championship standings, regardless of what happened over the remaining laps. His only remaining opportunity to end the season on a high note was to win the race itself.
That left the No. 11 team with a different objective for the afternoon.
Instead of calculating points and tracking Larson’s position, Hamlin and his crew could concentrate entirely on getting to Victory Lane.
Denny Hamlin Told His NASCAR Championship Hopes Are Over Mid-Race