Denny Hamlin spotter answers pressing question about critical 4-tire decision in NASCAR championship race

Days later, and many in the NASCAR world are still trying to figure out how Sunday’s championship happened. Was there any possible way for Denny Hamlin to know that Kyle Larson was taking two, and if so, was the team warned about it?

At times, spotters will have the job of telling their teams what others are up to. On the track and on pit road, spotters have to keep their eyes open for any and all information that they can share.

Chris Lambert, spotter for Denny Hamlin, answered a question from a fan earlier today about just that. Was Lambert aware that Larson was going with two? And if so, what was communicated?

“Chris could u see how many tires the 5 was taking from your spotter position?” Twitter user Dumb Trucker (@truckindumbass) posted. “If so did u have enough time to radio on channel 2 and let the team know so they could audible to changing 2.”

Lambert, to his credit, replied to the question. “No, could not see the 5 stall from the stand. All I was able to say on channel 2 was ‘lots of twos.'”

No, could not see the 5 stall from the stand. All I was able to say on channel 2 was “lots of twos.”

— Chris Lambert (@3widemiddle) November 6, 2025

The shock that the entire NASCAR community seemingly felt on Sunday was overwhelming. At the track, it felt more like a funeral than a championship celebration. Apologies were more frequent than congratulations, it felt like.

Denny Hamlin had one of the most heartbreaking moments in NASCAR and perhaps sports last week. I think everyone is eager to see how Hamlin and this 11-team respond in 2026.

What went wrong for Denny Hamlin?

It was strange to feel the dichotomy of feelings from Saturday to Sunday. When Denny Hamlin lost, it wasn’t like he had been having a historically dominant season. But it felt like, in the final year of the one-race championship, it was going to give us one more gift.

Like watching a movie, Hamlin went on an unreal run in the NASCAR Playoffs. Even when it looked like his usual gremlins of the past were going to be the end of his run, he persevered. Then it was all ripped away by perhaps the second most controversial rule NASCAR has introduced since 2004, overtime.

What frustrates me the most after the initial shock of it all is that in the final year of the “Game 7 moment” format, it couldn’t even deliver on that promise. Had Kyle Larson won the race on that final restart, I think we all would chalk it up to bad luck for Hamlin and congratulate Larson on a championship that he very much deserves.

It feels right to call him a two-time champ. But the one-race format was designed to deliver the title to the most “clutch” team. The team that performed the best when the lights were brightest. That’s all we’ve heard from many of the pro-playoff voices, which is fine. That’s not who was rewarded on Sunday. Denny Hamlin had his Game 7 moment and walked away empty-handed.