Another week, another problem for Denny Hamlin.
A week after a downcast Hamlin bemoaned his setbacks over the course of his runs in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he found himself struggling once more. Hamlin lost significant ground early in the race with a splitter issue from which he reportedly had tire damage.
Tough start for @dennyhamlin. Currently listed P.35 at @kansasspeedway (lead lap). Still plenty of time to rebound. 229 laps to go. pic.twitter.com/64yRSMvtQE
— FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 16, 2016
Hamlin pitted repeatedly for repairs during the race’s second caution, which was sparked by a crash by Aric Almirola. After running in the lead group for the opening laps of the race, Hamlin was 35th on Lap 41.
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Last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, in the first of this three-race round, Hamlin had an engine failure late that relegated him to 30th in the race. That dropped him to eighth in the standings, the transfer position for the next round. He was one of five Chase drivers who had significant problems at Charlotte.
.@dennyhamlin has made three pit stops during this ⚠️ to repair a splitter issue.
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) October 16, 2016
Looks like he will restart p35. pic.twitter.com/ca54qyAPoR
Hamlin opted not to pit during a caution a few laps later and was already working his way back to the front. He was 24th on Lap 44.
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By Lap 70, Hamlin was 14th.
And he didn't stop there.
Look who is back in the top 10 - @dennyhamlin pic.twitter.com/IibU1rongs
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) October 16, 2016
He didn't stop there either. By Lap 152 of the scheduled 267, Hamlin was sixth.
Then he endured a series of pit-road penalties on his final two stops that pushed him to the tail end of the longest line on restarts.
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Finally, he made contact with Brad Keselowski late, sustaining some front-end damage after Keselowski's car appeared to slow in front of his after completing a pass. Hamlin would go on to finish 15th. It's not bad considering the obstacles, but was enough to drop him to 10th in the standings with one race to go before the field is trimmed to eight.
“Terrible," he said of his race. "I mean just everything went wrong. Just stupid stuff and then penalties when we shouldn’t have them and just another year of the same stuff. ... just wish we could make things happen a little bit better. I mean, there’s not much else I can do.”