Throughout the playoffs, Denny Hamlin‘s declaration that 2023 was “his season” and might be the year he’d clinch his inaugural NASCAR Cup title seemed almost prophetic. He showcased stellar performances consistently, making him appear like a shoo-in for the Phoenix final 4, at least until half of the playoff season.

Yet, as fate would have it, the tides turned dramatically. The latest twist was at Homestead, where the #11 Toyota Champ placed 30th. On the 237th lap, just moments after Martin Truex Jr.‘s race came to an abrupt end, Denny Hamlin faced a mechanical glitch that propelled him straight into the wall. What’s intriguing is that before this race, the Joe Gibbs Racing star was exuding confidence, even playfully hamming it up for the cameras. This display caught the attention of a prominent NASCAR insider who didn’t hold back, giving the 42-year-old a playful roast while scrutinizing his on-track activities.

When Denny Hamlin flashes his confidence, he better back it up, believes Kenny Wallace

Before the engines roared at Homestead Miami Speedway, Denny Hamlin strutted his self-assurance with a cheeky “S*ck it” crotch chop gesture. Yet, an early skirmish with Ryan Blaney and an eventual mechanical hiccup seemed to play spoilsport to his brazen display. Cue the NASCAR punditry, ready to have a field day!

Kenny Wallace, the ex-Xfinity series racer, quipped, “This is where if you’re like Scott Bloomquist (one of the greatest dirt racers of all time) and you do the crotch chop, you’re like, S*ck it. When you do that, you better win.”

But Kenny Wallace, ever the analyst, delved deeper into the situation, as he mused, “But in defense of Denny, Denny Hamlin breaks something in the steering. Let’s go to Denny Hamlin’s crew chief, Chris Gabehart: “The tire was still good; something broke in the front end.” So, here we go! Part failure: what was it? We don’t know. Will they tell us what it was? NASCAR is going to be looking at it.”

He further added, “When we look back through the race, I mean, Denny was fighting up there in the top three the whole damn race, so… I mean, if he hit something, the front end was still perfect. I mean, you can go: Oh! He scuffed the wall earlier in the race. The toe still had to be perfect because he is fighting for the win. So I think something broke. Be really interested to see what it was.”

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While Kenny Wallace’s playful jibe was quickly followed by a more in-depth probe into the No. 11 troubles, it appears Denny Hamlin isn’t too keen on shedding light on his Homestead misadventure anytime soon.

The No. 11 Toyota mishap saga at Homestead remains shrouded in mystery

On his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Jared Allen probed Denny Hamlin about the Homestead Miami mayhem, but Hamlin’s tale seemed to zigzag a bit. At first, the JGR star mused that he was not entirely sure. From what he gathered, there are a couple of theories.

Perhaps the power steering just gave out. Or maybe a suspension component failed. It’s all a bit unclear. Denny Hamlin also said that while a few times he did brush against the wall during the race, it wasn’t anything jarring.

Yet, moments later, the driver of the No. 11 seemed to double back, adding, “Certainly something should have broke the suspension part. I mean, it didn’t break a toe link; it shouldn’t break anything else. And after I’d hit the wall, we hadn’t observed any data that showed anything. For me, the steering was all aligned and, like, all fast, so there was nothing out of the blue. Something clearly was a fracture.”

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His wavering account surely raises eyebrows and fuels speculation. Was Denny Hamlin playing coy about some manufacturer details? Well, now, with the pressure mounting, Hamlin has one more shot at glory, vying for that elusive top-4 spot.