Frustration surfaced for Denny Hamlin after yet another near-miss at Kansas Speedway, something that has become a trend in his Cup Series career.
Videos by FanBuzz
Once again, Hamlin fell short of a win at Kansas Speedway despite having one of the best cars in the field. He led a race-high 134 laps and scored 19 stage points, but he ended the race in fourth place while his driver Tyler Reddick won for the fifth time this season.
To make the situation more frustrating for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, he had the lead coming to the white flag. He just didn't get the chance to seal the win due to a single-car spin.
CAUTION IS OUT CAUTION IS OUT CAUTION IS OUT CAUTION IS OUT
The important thing is we all stay calm.
CAUTION IS OUT!! pic.twitter.com/2MMZCrXHjS
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 19, 2026
"I mean, obviously it's not winning," a frustrated Hamlin told Fox Sports' Jamie Little. "It's Cody Ware, six laps down wrecking. I don't know. It just added up."
Hamlin still had the lead entering overtime. He lined up as the control car on the inside row, but he immediately lost the lead as Kyle Larson took the field three wide. He then faded to fourth over the final two laps after being passed by Reddick and then Chase Briscoe, who had four fresh tires.
"I fell for the same move that the 5 (Kyle Larson) got me a couple years ago when I was on the inside," Hamlin continued. "I got to learn from those mistakes that I make, not executing those last few laps."
A frustrating finish in Kansas for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team.@JamieLittleTV | https://t.co/cgl0V5eMLk pic.twitter.com/u6fZCYzexc
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 19, 2026
The near-misses at Kansas Speedway are something of which Hamlin is acutely aware. He has made 35 starts at Kansas Speedway at NASCAR's top level and finished top five in 15 of them. This includes runner-ups in 2015, 2022, 2023, and 2025.
He even mentioned them on Saturday during a pre-practice meeting with media members.
That particular session looked back at last season's playoff race at the intermediate track and how Hamlin dominated by leading 159 laps. However, he finished second after he made contact with Bubba Wallace on the final lap and opened up the door for Chase Elliott to steal the win.
"I mean, for the last six years, if someone else wins a Kansas race, I'm just trying to figure out how we didn't win, because we're always just so fast here," Hamlin said on Saturday.
"We found 10 to 12 different ways to not win here, and I thought I saw the stat this week that there has only been, I think Larson's been the only repeat winner here of the last 11 races, and it was like, the fact that we haven't is just criminal."
These words took on more significance on Sunday afternoon as Hamlin dominated another Kansas race but missed out on yet another win. Although he moved past Ryan Blaney into second place in the Cup Series standings.
