Denny Hamlin explains Brickyard 400 qualifying disaster, going to 'trailer rat' backup car

Denny Hamlin admitted that he made a mistake during qualifying for the Brickyard 400 this past weekend. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin revealed what caused his wreck at qualifying and led to him going with a backup car.

“The alternate start/finish line is in between turns three and four for practice and qualifying. So it allows us to finish our lap and then versus coasting all the way around, taking another two minutes of your time before the next car can go,” Hamlin said. “They moved the start/finish line back to the middle of three and four. So, you cross the line, you run your lap, you cross your line again to take the checkered, then you pull into the pits.

“I got through turn four pretty good. My car was on edge, but I’m thinking, ‘Okay, I nailed that corner pretty well.’ And then I went into turn one and felt like it just had a ridiculous amount of grip. It was really, really fast. …I tried to go into turn two, and I felt the grip on corner entry, felt fine, but I just got back to it. Anyone that have seen kind of my traces and how I drive and how I use the throttle, I gave it one of those big stabs right in the middle of the corner of two, and it got me offline. I got up in the stuff and then it put me in the wall.”

Denny Hamlin still had a strong Brickyard 400 despite qualifying issues

The wreck led to the No. 11 team going with a backup car for Sunday’s race. And after starting the Brickyard 400 in last place, Hamlin worked his way to the top of the field and finished third. Hamlin had an interesting way to describe the car that got him a top-five finish.

“I think it was Chris Gabehart says it’s a trailer rat,” Hamlin said. “It’s been hauled around for quite some time. It certainly did not have the time and attention that everyone else’s primary had. It’s more of a basic car. It’s got four tires, it rolls and then you try to do your best to put that setup in there.”

Hamlin finished in the top five for the second consecutive week and for the third time in four races. Last week, Hamlin won at Dover to earn his fourth victory of the season. Despite not winning at Indianapolis, Hamlin didn’t come away empty-handed, as his team, 23XI Racing, had a day to remember. Bubba Wallace won the Brickyard 400, meaning that Hamlin earned his first race win of the season as an owner.