In a matter of seconds, Denny Hamlin’s Sonoma race fell apart. During a frantic restart sequence, the veteran of Joe Gibbs Racing, who was running seventh on Lap 64 and appeared ready to continue his push through the field, was spun around as he entered Turn 7. The crash ruined his day, and he finished in a disappointing 26th place. Right away, fans blamed Carson Hocevar. Because of Hocevar’s history of aggressive driving, he was an easy target. But one Hendrick Motorsports great thinks the true offender has gone unnoticed.

Steve Letarte says road course chaos was the real problem

“This wreck in general is basically the same as what you see on an interstate,” former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte explained after watching the video. “When you hit the car in front of you, you get the speeding ticket. You get the infraction, and Carson Hocevar is going to get the ticket here. So as much as the fan bases wants to point the blame at someone, I think the blame really might go to road course racing in general.”

The replay looked straightforward at first. When Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota and Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet collided in Turn 7, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was spun around, and his race was derailed. Naturally, Hocevar, one of the most contentious drivers in the Cup Series, was blamed right away.

But Steve Letarte saw something different. The former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief noted that Hocevar wasn’t acting alone by dissecting the replay frame by frame. Rather, a series of events unfolded behind him. Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet made contact with Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford, who was then pushed forward into the rear of Hocevar’s car. This chain reaction shoved Hocevar directly into Hamlin.

Letarte believed that the incident wasn’t just a reckless move by Hocevar. Instead, it was a normal problem with modern road-course racing. Restarts pack the cars very close together. When drivers rush into heavy braking zones right after the green flag, chain-reaction crashes are bound to happen.

The distinction is important because, before the release of the whole replay, fans were ready to place blame. One fan had summed up that frustration bluntly, writing, “Hocevar simply needs his a** whipped. Hard.” Carson Hocevar’s reputation was a major factor in that response. The Spire Motorsports driver, dubbed “Hurricane Hocevar” by some, has established a reputation as a racer who is often involved in collisions, like when he was penalized for crashing into Harrison Burton on purpose at Nashville in 2024.

Now, even though Letarte cleared Hocevar of the blame, Hamlin’s race was still ruined.

Denny Hamlin’s championship lead comes with frustration

“I had a really fast car, top five car on speed,” Hamlin said after the race. “Didn’t really have great restarts, giving up a couple in the first and about one after that. Got spun there, and once we got spun, I hit the nose and knocked the splitter off. Lost a lot of downforce, and struggled to run where we were at.”

The day was frustrating for Hamlin because he knew his car could win. He even gave up early-stage points on purpose to get a better position for the end of the race. However, he can still take some positives out of the whole race. Tyler Reddick is no longer leading the championship rankings for the first time this season.

With three early victories and a commanding 129-point lead over the field, the 23XI Racing driver had a strong start to 2026. However, that buffer gradually vanished within the last month.

By the narrowest possible margin, Denny Hamlin has now surpassed the driver of his 23XI Racing co-owner. Just one point! However, Hamlin’s post-race attitude indicated that he saw Sunday as a lost chance more than a triumph, given the speed in his vehicle and the points still up for grabs.