Denny Hamlin was so close to winning his first Brickyard 400. On Sunday afternoon, Hamlin finished in fourth place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had a great points day, he wasn't able to secure the victory despite leading on the final restart. Christopher Bell wasn't able to push Hamlin, leading to Corey Heim taking the lead.
Following the event, Hamlin spoke about losing the Brickyard 400 despite having the lead on the final restart. It was a difficult pill to swallow for the championship leader.
“Everyone’s trying to fight to win the race," Hamlin said. "When you’re clear by an inch, you’re going to take that inch. It’s really more on us, (Christopher Bell) and (Chase Briscoe) to just not orchestrate good
pushes there. We became detached at the wrong time. I thought (Bell) was on board with giving us the push, it was just way too early before the restart zone, and I can’t go until I get to the restart zone. He said Briscoe was on him way, way early or laying back. That’s how you lose them. These restarts, when everyone know you’re going to go, it’s about the pushes."
COREY HEIM WINS THE BRICKYARD 400 FOR 23XI RACING 🤯 pic.twitter.com/eoiUp6h974
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) July 26, 2026
"That’s essentially how I got the lead. It just came back the other way around. I maybe was in there just a hair into Turn 2, and he shut the door, but everyone’s fighting for a big Brickyard victory. It’s earned on their side, and it’s on us as a team on the other side. I’m sure maybe I could have done something different with the restart on the timing of it, but man, just getting a shove so early didn’t allow me to get my car straight before taking off, and Logano really timed the bump (to Heim). But I don’t know what we do different."
Hamlin is only missing the Brickyard 400 on his resume after winning NASCAR's other Crown Jewel events. If the No. 11 car was able to maintain the lead on the restart, he likely would've gone to victory lane. Instead, Hamlin is stuck with a fourth-place finish and another "what if" at Indianapolis.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Denny Hamlin discusses heartbreaking defeat in 2026 Brickyard 400
