Denny Hamlin Defends ‘Not In It Mentally’ Comments After Kansas Frustrations

Denny Hamlin has defended his comments that he is “not mentally in it” after a frustrating race at Kansas Speedway.

Hamlin’s performance was marred by several pit road mishaps, derailing his chances of securing an advance to the Round of 8. Following the race, Hamlin didn’t mince his words. He commented to the media, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:

“They know that today was one of their worst days ever. They’ll just go work to clean it up.

“I don’t know, I’ve had some pretty bad days, but just yeah, horrible day.

“Came out 15th, 20th, then we had a loose wheel. Just terrible. Terrible day.

“We should have won the race. We had the fastest car, but every time we get to the top three the caution comes out and we restart 15th, 20th. Can’t show how fast your car is when you’re back of the pack.

“All you can do is just keep making positions back up to the front over and over and over and eventually you just run out of laps and someone else wins.”

He added:

“I’m not in it mentally, I can tell you that. There’s a lot of wires crossed and bolts loose at the moment. But what can you do? I’ll just do the best I can to drive the car and do my part.”

In an effort to clarify his comments about “not [being] in it mentally”, Hamlin explained during his ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast:

“I’m in the moment, in this bubble, right? I’m trying to make sense of my day and how did the result turn out and what we could have done better. So what I was saying there when they ask about my mentality … I go, ‘well mentally I’m not in it. Right now, I’m just p**sed off.'”

Despite the tumultuous day, Hamlin manages to maintain his position above the cutoff line in the playoffs, albeit by a slim margin of 11 points.

NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 At Kansas Speedway Results

1. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
2. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
4. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Penske Racing Ford
5. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
7. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
9. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10. Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
11. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
12. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
13. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
14. Joey Logano, No. 22 Penske Racing Ford
15. Corey LaJoie, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
16. Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
17. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
18. Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
19. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
20. Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
21. Ty Dillon, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
22. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
23. Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
24. Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
25. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
26. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
27. Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG-Daughtery Racing Chevrolet
29. Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
30. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
31. Kaz Grala, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford
32. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
33. Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
34. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Penske Racing Ford
35. Erik Jones, Legacy Motor Club Toyota
36. Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
37. JJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
38. Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford