Denny Hamlin Vents Frustration With Cody Ware After Coming Up Short at Kansas
The end of the Kansas race is going to be one that Denny Hamlin wants to forget sooner than later. He was battling hard with Tyler Reddick as the laps were winding down, and it was shaping up to be an epic finish. Then Cody Ware was spinning out.
After the finish, Hamlin lamented the late wreck from Ware. He was one of the last cars in the field, multiple laps down, and his spin completely changed the end of the race. Maybe not the result, but definitely how it played out.
Tyler Reddick ended up winning in overtime, and Hamlin had to settle for P3 behind Kyle Larson. Jamie Little asked him about what was the most frustrating part of the whole ordeal, he laid the blame on Ware.
"I mean, obviously it's not winning. It's Cody Ware, six laps down, wrecking," Hamlin said on Fox. "I don't know, it just added up. It just, I fell for the same move that the 5 got me a couple years ago when I was on the inside. So, I just gotta learn from those mistakes that I'm making and not executing those last few laps."
Hamlin was clearly not happy with the 51 spinning as the leaders were approaching the white flag lap. However, he also took the blame for the late restart. Hamlin has been in these late race situations at Kansas in the past, but this time he couldn't finish the job.
In overtime, Denny Hamlin did get into the wall, but that wasn't as big of a deal as the wreck that brought out the late caution and triggered extra laps. A tough break for the 11 team.
"Yeah, I had a big run off turn two, the 19, I think was probably on four tires there, so you know, wasn't a whole lot of room, but I wasn't going to lift," Hamlin said. "I just got in the wall, but it really didn't affect the finishing position."
Another strange moment for Hamlin as the driver and team owner. His driver, Reddick, has five wins in the first nine races. Yet, it is disappointment that Hamlin feels as the driver of the 11 team.
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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 5:54 PM.