“In this moment, I never want to race a car again.” These words from Denny Hamlin post his Phoenix loss show the heartbreak he’s gone through yet another finale without a title. Leading 208 laps, Hamlin came so close to winning that elusive title, but the final 40 seconds changed it all. His post-race frustrated admission that he never wants to race again was understandable, but it still sparked a lot of worry about his retirement.

With six wins already in 2025, including a pole-starting masterclass at Phoenix, Hamlin’s near-miss felt like cruel déjà vu from his prior Championship 4 heartbreaks. Yet amid the growing retirement worry among Hamlin and non-Hamlin fans, Kevin Harvick, someone who’s seen all possible emotions as a driver, calms the fans with his take on it.

Kevin Harvick reassures fans

On Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast, the retired champion with 60 wins didn’t mince words, diving straight into Hamlin’s emotional state with empathy born from his own heartbreaks. “Now, I will tell you, that’s normal. When you’re in this situation… you’re mad, you’re frustrated,” Harvick said, recalling his 2020 season, where nine wins ended in a fifth-place championship finish despite dominating most of the year.

That personal heartbreak and frustration of Harvick shows why Hamlin‘s post-race numbness resonates so deeply; it’s the toll of pouring everything into one final race that slips away because of a single late caution that came due to William Byron’s flat tire. Harvick nailed the sentiment with four words “We’ve all been there” easing the panic among fans.

Those words landed like rain in a drought, dismissing retirement whispers by stating Hamlin’s pain is a moment that every elite driver faces in their career. Harvick himself gave an example of a moment in his career where he felt the same way, stating, “I felt like that in 2020… all of your whole season comes down to this race and that one circumstance.”

These moments are the harsh reality of competing in the Cup Series, where it doesn’t matter how big a driver you are or how many wins you have in a season. Such moments will come and hit you when you are desperately chasing something. Hamlin’s season was that example.

Fans also grieved for two reasons. Hamlin, at 44, with sixty wins but no titles in two decades, deserved that title more than anyone this season. Not out of sympathy, but by the merit he showed. The second reason is that this might have been the last finale race that his father, Dennis Hamlin, might have witnessed. “I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment,” said Hamlin. But Harvick’s take reminds us about the unforgiving nature of the sport, which cares less about emotions.

Even Kyle Larson, fresh off clinching his second title with a third-place finish, tipped his hat to Hamlin’s grit. “He’s the ultimate competitor on the racetrack… somebody who’s definitely made me a better race car driver,” he said post-race, nodding to Hamlin’s competitive nature and hand in pushing Larson to become an even sharper driver. William Byron was also sorry for his caution.

So it’s no wonder the garage roots for Hamlin; his near-miss wasn’t defeat but another chapter in a career that’s redefined consistency without the crown.

As the dust settled, Hamlin shifted gears to the bigger picture, turning scrutiny toward the tires that upended the finale.

Hamlin shields tire team in wake of Phoenix tire woes

The Phoenix asphalt chewed up rubber like never before, with low pressures and the Next Gen car’s demands sparking multiple failures, including Byron’s Lap 309 blowout that doomed Hamlin’s title hope. Teams had been testing their cars hard all season to get more grip from Goodyear’s tires, but it backfired spectacularly for Hamlin in overtime chaos. But Hamlin refused to point fingers, instead praising the tire maker’s efforts to soften compounds and revive driver control after years of aero-dominant races.

“Well, I think they did a great job all season long. It’s not their fault that we’re running the tires flat,” Hamlin said. “I really applaud them and the tires that they’ve continued to bring to the racetrack and keep pushing the limits on softer, softer, to try to put it back in the drivers’ hands.”

This nod stems from Goodyear’s tweaks post-2022, like the Bristol playoff mess where ultra-soft tires started to wear down within 30 laps, which surprised the driver and the whole team. At Phoenix, those innovations aimed to boost falloff and passing, but the four contenders’ aggressive setups amplified the risks too, turning a title fight into a tire-centric strategy fight.

“It would be difficult for anyone to build a tire that can withstand what we’re doing to it with this car. They’re in a really tough spot. Certainly, I think, if anything, they deserve credit,” Hamlin added, flipping blame to the teams’ testing extremes. His stance echoes a season of evolution, where softer tires have helped him to grab six victories, yet exposed vulnerabilities in high-heat finales.