#11 was having a slight bit of a rough go, finishing in the back of the pack in the first two stages at P25 and P19. And just when things were looking up in Stage 3, and Denny Hamlin was cruising in P5, Hamlin somehow managed to trip over his own feet, so to speak. Whether he did it on purpose is still up in the air.

Denny Hamlin’s mistakes that nearly cost him the race

Things got hairy on Lap 241, when Chase Briscoe and Hamlin rubbed elbows, turning their race sideways while jockeying for 4th and 5th positions. With the clock ticking down and only nineteen laps left, Briscoe got the sting of Hamlin’s car in his left rear, a result of a tight four-wide, sending both their cars spinning with damage. The crash ended up dragging Harrison Burton, Josh Berry, and Justin Haley into the fray, bringing the race to a sharp halt with a red flag.

Not to mention, Briscoe was all over the map during the Ambetter Health 400, flirting with the lead more often than not. He was dancing between lanes, taking every chance to advance, until his bold moves caught up with him near the final stretch at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In the midst of all this chaos, William Byron found himself with an unexpected stroke of luck, getting a free pass amidst the turmoil.

But Denny Hamlin’s day was filled with more than just one slip-up that threw a wrench in his race. Barely 11 laps in, Hamlin’s #11 Camry was already breaking into the top ten. But then, Chris Buescher‘s skittish Ford nearly sent Hamlin packing early on.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg for the #11 team’s evening. By lap 53, Hamlin was inching closer to the top five, just ahead of Kyle Busch, when they both zigged when they should’ve zagged, trying to hitch a ride on a faster line. Hamlin was edging to the middle, while Busch was aiming for a draft and veered higher, leading to Hamlin’s Camry, making an unscheduled detour through the grass.

Somehow, Hamlin managed to claw his way back to the front in the second stage. But just when things were looking up, chaos struck. Right before the second stage wrapped up, Joey Logano went full throttle with a block on Chris Buescher, causing a chain reaction that snagged Buescher’s #17 and Hamlin too.

Denny Hamlin Completes the Unwanted “Trifecta” in Atlanta as His Miserable Day Ends With a Huge Wreck

Yet, Hamlin wasn’t down for the count, muscling his way to the front by lap 170. With 43 laps left, he snagged the lead, but he flew too close to the sun. The final straw came when he was tangled up in a four-wide scramble and nicked Chase Briscoe’s bumper, triggering a spinout that caught several others in the fray. And just like that, Hamlin’s night was done after these three major pileups.

Hamlin was none too pleased afterward, pointing fingers at the over-the-top aggressive driving by some of the folks on the track.

#11 voices his displeasure with the aggression shown during the final laps

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Chatting with Bob Pockrass, Denny Hamlin didn’t hold back on his frustration, saying, “Trifecta. They mentioned we wrecked in every stage, so we completed the trifecta. I got a look at them, I feel like the victim but I don’t know. The #41 or #14, whoever ended up spinning out, I guess I ran into, but four wide, I had nowhere to go on the bottom.”

He even tossed a bit of shade Suarez’s way: “The #99 put me four wide second from the bottom so there’s just no room. And then on the front stretch, the #8 spun us but I don’t even know, I’m still caught off guard, I don’t know if I hedged too low down the straightaway, I knew I was on the outside but I’m not sure.”

Hamlin’s race was a series of unfortunate events, but here’s to hoping he can turn his luck around in Vegas.