Phoenix Raceway still carries a painful memory for Denny Hamlin. During the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, Hamlin appeared to have the title within reach after dominating much of the event. But a late caution changed everything. His team opted for four tires, dropping him deep in the order, while rivals gambled on two and surged ahead. Months later, that moment still lingers. And now Team Penske and co. may have subtly reminded everyone of it.
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Denny Hamlin’s mistake proves helpful for Team Penske
“We try to study everything that’s happened. We try to be smart about history and so we thought that there would definitely be a lot of guys and even if you look earlier in the race, there were a lot of guys that successfully did too. So I thought we’d have a good chance with that.”
That was Ryan Blaney’s crew chief Jonathan Hassler explaining the decisive call that ultimately shaped the outcome of the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway. And in doing so, his reasoning carried a subtle echo of last year’s championship heartbreak for Denny Hamlin.
With 12 laps remaining, a late caution sent the field diving down pit road. While several contenders chose four fresh tires, Hassler made the aggressive call to take only two tires on the No. 12 Ford. The strategy placed Blaney near the front of the field for the restart. Starting from the second row, Blaney wasted little time making the move that mattered. With 10 laps to go, he powered past race leader Ty Gibbs and seized control of the race.
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NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Practice Feb 11, 2026 Daytona Beach, Florida, USA NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney 12 during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Daytona Beach Daytona International Speedway Florida USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMikexDinovox 20260211_mcd_ad4_26
Behind him, Christopher Bell was forced to fight from deeper in the pack. Bell restarted eighth, the first car in line among those who had opted for four tires during the caution. The fresher Goodyear rubber allowed Bell to close the gap quickly. But despite the speed advantage, the No. 20 Toyota ultimately ran out of time. Blaney crossed the finish line 0.399 seconds ahead to secure the victory.
“Obviously, the 20 [Bell] was the best car. But Jonathan [Hassler, No. 12 crew chief] made a great call to take two [on last stop]. We were able to get the lead. Hold them off. I don’t know how many more laps I could have held them off,” Blaney admitted after the race.
The strategy felt familiar in another way, too. Just months earlier in the 2025 championship race at Phoenix, Joe Gibbs Racing had taken the opposite approach with Denny Hamlin. JGR opted for four tires during a similar late caution and lost valuable track position.
This time, Team Penske flipped the script, using the two-tire gamble to perfection. The win not only highlighted a sharp strategic decision but also pushed Blaney up to second in the championship standings, climbing two spots after the Phoenix triumph. For Denny Hamlin and JGR, the reminder of what might have been likely stung just a little more.
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Denny Hamlin finds positives after hard-fought run
“Yeah just fringe top three to four car all day, that’s kind of all we had. The 20 (of Christopher Bell) and the 12 (of Blaney) were obviously standouts there. But yeah, great job by our Bob’s Furniture Camry. Just need to be a little better. There’s not much else you can say.”
That was Denny Hamlin’s honest evaluation after the Straight Talk Wireless 500, where the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota finally delivered his first top-five finish of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. While Ryan Blaney grabbed the headlines by taking the checkered flag, Hamlin quietly pieced together one of his most complete races of the year.
The veteran driver spent much of the afternoon running near the front group and showed steady pace across all three stages of the 312-lap event. However, the race wasn’t completely smooth for the No. 11 team. At one point midway through the event, Denny Hamlin lost valuable track position after coming out slower than expected on pit road following a stop.
The delay temporarily dropped him deeper into the field and forced the team to regroup during the long green-flag stretches that followed. Still, Hamlin managed to claw his way back into contention. By the time the race entered its final stretch, the three-time Daytona 500 winner had once again worked himself into the top five, putting him within striking distance of the leaders.
But the closing laps proved tricky. Traffic stacked up ahead of him during the final restart, preventing Hamlin from making the aggressive moves needed to chase down the front runners. Instead, the veteran settled for fifth place, just behind Ty Gibbs, while Blaney and Christopher Bell battled it out for the win.
Even if it wasn’t a victory, the result provided a much-needed boost for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team as they look to build momentum heading deeper into the season.
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