Denny Hamlin powered through the 2025 YellaWood 500 at Talladega, a chaotic clash with 77 lead changes among 27 drivers, landing a 24th-place finish in the superspeedway scrum. He dodged the big wrecks but couldn’t snag the draft to run up front when it counted.

No sweat, though, his Las Vegas win the week prior already locked his Championship 4 spot, keeping his title dreams alive despite the ‘Dega disappointment. The wild weekend was less about points and more about survival, but a fiery radio rant stole the spotlight, and now Hamlin’s setting the record straight.

Hamlin’s hot mic

On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin cleared the air: “I don’t know. I don’t know if that is true, but by the way, my tone yesterday wasn’t like angry or anything like that. It was just a matter of fact, like we got to get it figured out, like yeah, it’s really frustrating because you want it again. We want our results dictated by our performance on the racetrack.”

The rant, sparked by a rough Talladega run, wasn’t rage but a plea for precision, frustration born from races like Kansas, where a clutch glitch yanked his car off the pit stall, a recurring ghost in his career’s rearview.

He dug deeper into the gremlins: “Nothing … I’m telling you guys nothing would absolutely suck worse than to go to Phoenix and have a mechanical or something happen, took your opportunity to achieve your dream out, and so it’s just we’ve had some issues with batteries and starters and clutches and just lots.”

Batteries, starters, clutches, small parts, big pain. Kansas’ May meltdown, with a slow pit stop and power loss, stung hard, and Hamlin’s Phoenix nod screams stakes: a title shot, his lifelong chase, could crumble if a bolt blinks. It’s exasperation, not explosion, a veteran fed up with fate’s fine print.

His prep took a twist: “I’d go there and I took the week off. As far as preparation for Dega is concerned. Not that I don’t really prepare for Dega as much, and I’ll prepare for another race track. Most of my time was spent obviously on a few weeks from now, but you know I’m always thinking well, what if we didn’t win?”

Hamlin’s eyes are on the finale, not just the next flag. Skipping ‘Dega prep for Phoenix focus shows a mind measuring moments, not races, a shift from youth’s bounce-back to a vet’s what-if weight, especially after Kansas’ clutch curse cost him a shot at more.

He backed his crew: “This could have been a pivotal moment and in our championship hopes that’s kind of where my frustration lied, and I don’t think anyone at the shop. You know, when you look at the issues that we had, I don’t think it’s anyone necessarily at the race shop that is doing something wrong, especially the guys that put my cars together are just phenomenal.”

Hamlin’s quick to shield his team, calling their work “phenomenal” while cursing the cosmos. It’s not shop sloppiness but sneaky snags, mechanicals that mock the speed he’s shown, turning pivotal races into near-misses.

He closed with loyalty: “Brandon, his whole team, like I would go to war with that A-Team versus anyone. It’s just more of a…I don’t know, just more of a just a mechanical issue, and it’s not necessarily things that we put together that you would love to see us fix. I don’t know where we’re going to fix it in a couple weeks, but you just hope that it doesn’t play a factor when it really counts at the end of these races, especially the final race.”

Brandon’s squad gets his salute, a war-ready crew facing a foe no wrench can whip. Hamlin’s hope? That Phoenix’s finale ducks the gremlins, a title chase too close to choke on a clutch.

Hamlin’s mechanical moans tie straight to his hype for Richard Childress Racing’s shake-up, backing their call to bring veteran Jim Pohlman to Kyle Busch’s No. 8.

Hamlin’s hope for RCR

On Actions Detrimental, he mused: “Pohlman might have probably the best option they could get.” New to Next Gen but no stranger to wins, Pohlman steered Justin Allgaier’s JRM ride to a 2024 Xfinity title and shaped RCR’s R&D, crafting the very car Busch battles.

Hamlin digs the outside hire: “Maybe it’s just a fresh set of eyes. I like that RCR is hiring from outside the company versus promoting someone. More than likely, if someone was really, really good within the shop, their cars will be running better…”

He sees a spark: “Maybe he can come up with something to where why you guys aren’t looking at Y versus X? Hopefully it gets Kyle Busch the performance jump that he’s looking for.” Busch, who’s praised JRM’s gear but leaned on Pohlman’s edge, needs this jolt, his 2025 struggles, including a crew chief swap, mirror Hamlin’s own gripes with gremlins.

Hamlin’s nod to 23XI’s Charles Denike, a Truck-to-Cup leap with no prior Cup chops, shows faith in fresh perspectives, a parallel to his own plea for fixes beyond the shop. Pohlman’s untested eyes could be RCR’s reset, just as Hamlin hopes his team dodges doom in Phoenix, a shared chase to outrun the unpredictable.