Denny Hamlin hits the wall at Daytona, limps around track while arguing with crew chief Chris Gayle

Things have gone from bad to worse for Denny Hamlin in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. Hamlin, involved in the 12-car wreck on Lap 27, blew a right front tire on Lap 108 and hit the outside wall at Daytona International Speedway.

Hamlin limped around the track, shedding debris behind him. A frustrated Hamlin engaged in a heated back-and-forth on radio with crew chief Chris Gayle.

“I can’t turn the car! I can’t turn it!” Hamlin said.

Gayle called on Hamlin to go to the garage so they could observe what went wrong. Hamlin was adamant that he wanted to come down pit road and put on tires to avoid going more than one lap down.

“Just get the tire on it so I don’t go another f*cking lap down,” Hamlin said, via NASCAR insider Toby Christie. That prompted this response back from Gayle: “We’ll put a tire on it, but we have to know what the f*ck is wrong with it, Denny.”

It hasn’t gone to plan for Denny Hamlin at Daytona

Denny Hamlin is back on the track, the only car in the field one lap down. He’ll look for a caution some time in Stage 3 to get back on the lead lap. At Daytona, that’s almost all but guaranteed.

Regardless, this night hasn’t gone as Hamlin hoped it would. He has a winning history at Daytona, but this just hasn’t been his night. With the playoffs getting underway next Sunday at Darlington Raceway, Hamlin can’t afford to have runs like this over the next 10 weeks as he chases his first career Cup Series championship.