Denny Hamlin clears the air surrounding frustration with No. 11 mechanical issues at Talladega

Denny Hamlin has had an incredible season to this point, winning a NASCAR Cup Series-high six races. Next month at Phoenix Raceway, he will race for his first championship.

But if there’s been one glaring issue for the No. 11 team, it’s been mechanical issues with the race car. Last month at Kansas Speedway, it was a power steering issue. This past Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, Hamlin had a throttle problem. Little things, yes, but at this point in the season, every little thing matters — especially when we get to Phoenix.

“My tone yesterday wasn’t like angry or anything like that, it was just a matter of fact, like we gotta get it figured out,” Hamlin said on Monday’s Actions Detrimental podcast. “It’s really, really frustrating because we want our results dictated by our performance on the racetrack.

“Nothing would absolutely suck worse than to go to Phoenix and have a mechanical or something happen that took your opportunity to achieve your dream out. And so, we’ve had some issues with batteries and starters and clutches and just lots this year. I had all three.”

Hamlin finished 24th at Talladega, though his attention for much of the week leading up to the race was spent on getting ready for Phoenix. The last thing Hamlin wants is a mechanical problem to ruin his championship hopes. He said it’s not a problem with anyone building the race car, or anyone necessarily “doing something wrong.”

Denny Hamlin needs everything to go his way at Phoenix

“I took the week off as far as preparation for Talladega is concerned, not that I prepare for Talladega as much as I’ll prepare for another racetrack. Most of my time, obviously, was spent on a few weeks from now [at Phoenix],” Hamlin said. “But I was thinking, well what if? What if we didn’t win? This could be a pivotal moment in our championship hopes? That’s where my frustration lies, and I don’t think that anyone at the shop, when you look at the issues we had, I don’t think it’s anyone necessarily at the race shop that is doing something wrong.

“Especially the guys who put my car together, are just phenomenal. I would go to war with that A team versus anyone. It’s just more of a mechanical issue, and it’s not necessarily things we put together that would love to see us fix. I don’t know if we’re going to fix it in a couple of weeks, but you just hope it doesn’t play a factor when it really, really counts at the end of these races, especially the final race.”

Hamlin hopes the problems can be solved before Phoenix. At the same time, he can’t afford to spend too much time focusing on it.

“I can’t change it, regardless of if it happens or doesn’t. You just cross your fingers and hope that the luck gods will stay in your favor for the final week,” Hamlin said. “… Sometimes it is a good reminder of you just can’t take things for granted, you know what I mean? And nobody is trying anything out of the ordinary or again, I said the shop, but that’s a very vague term. I don’t believe these issues are in the race shop. I’ll leave it at that.”