Denny Hamlin calls title hopes unrealistic after sixth-place finish at Martinsville

NXTbets Pro | Published On: November 4, 2026

Hamlin’s title hopes

Denny Hamlin left Martinsville with a clear read on where his championship chase stands. After finishing sixth at the NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500, he said his title hopes were now “unrealistic.” The result left him 70 points behind Kyle Larson entering Homestead with one race left, and the math was steep from there. Hamlin would have needed a maximum 76-point day and a Larson finish of 32nd or worse to win his first Cup championship. Larson left Martinsville with the points lead, while Christopher Bell moved to second in the standings, 67 points behind Larson. For Hamlin, the finish at Martinsville closed a path that had looked possible only if several results broke perfectly. The sixth-place run gave him a solid day on paper, but it did not change the larger picture. He needed a near-flawless final race and help from the leader, and neither part of that formula was in his control by the time he got to the finish.

Martinsville strategy misfire

Hamlin’s day started from the best spot on the track. He won the pole at Martinsville and went into the race with the kind of track position that usually gives a driver an early edge. He and crew chief Chris Gayle stayed out early and expected a caution, betting on the usual tire-wear pattern at the track to force a reset. The caution never came for the first 130 laps, and the plan backfired. Hamlin slid from the lead to 17th by the end of Stage 1, and William Byron took the stage on fresher tires. The sequence left Joe Gibbs Racing chasing the race instead of controlling it. Hamlin said Martinsville’s normal tire behavior led the team to make the wrong strategy call, and the long green-flag stretch punished that choice. What looked like a manageable opening turned into a big early loss in track position, and the damage showed up in the standings of the race itself even before the late-race chaos became the main story. Hamlin still recovered well enough to finish sixth, but the missed call early on set the tone for a difficult afternoon.

Logano crash talk

The other major thread from Martinsville came from the Stage 2 crash involving Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and Hamlin. Logano squeezed inside Bell, hit Bell and spun both Bell and Hamlin. Hamlin said he spoke with Logano after the incident and asked whether he really needed to go three-wide. Logano told him he did not see Hamlin on Bell’s high side and thought Bell was blocking him. Hamlin said he understood that explanation. He also said he believed Logano likely did not intentionally target him. That left Hamlin describing himself as the “innocent guy” caught in the crash. He said the move into a three-wide situation after the wave-around was understandable, which framed the incident as a race move that went wrong rather than a deliberate hit. The exchange did not erase the damage, but it did give Hamlin a clearer view of how Logano saw it from inside the car. In a race where one mistake can change a title race, the wreck added another layer to a frustrating day. Hamlin’s comments put the emphasis on circumstance, split-second judgment and the kind of Martinsville contact that can reshape the playoff picture in an instant.