It seemed like Denny Hamlin was primed to make a run in the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge. He entered EchoPark Speedway as the as the No. 1 overall seed over the weekend, and his Round 1 matchup was none other than Ty Dillon.
As fate would have it, Hamlin would be caught up in a wreck, while Dillon kept his nose clean. When the checkered flag waved, a giant upset was made official, as the Kaulig Racing wheelman moved on to the next round. The 57-time Cup Series winner in Hamlin was eliminated.
That led to Hamlin venting a bit on X (formerly known as Twitter): “NASCAR Playoffs 2.0,” he posted, regarding the In-Season Challenge. But fans didn’t take too kindly to that comment, believing it was simply some sour grapes from the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman.
After being ratio’d and having a bunch of memes made about him, Hamlin set the record straight. He made sure to let the NASCAR world know that it was more of a self-depreciating comment than anything: “Look at these poor souls in the comments who didn’t get the joke,” Hamlin added. “He said I was eliminated people. I was making fun of myself.”
Alas, Hamlin’s joke makes a bit of sense, as he’s never been able to close the deal and win the championship under NASCAR’s playoff system. While the In-Season Challenge doesn’t hold the same gravitas, it would’ve been nice for Hamlin to make a bit of a run. That won’t be the case though.
The pain for Hamlin didn’t stop there. Dillon had a pointed message for Hamlin and his fanbase after the race, as well: “For all you Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out,” Dillon said on the TNT broadcast.
It’s quite the dig at Hamlin, who has become known for saying, “I just beat your favorite driver” after some of his wins over the years. On this night, Dillon had the upper hand. It was truly the bracket buster of all bracket busters, though most of those brackets weren’t in good shape just 70 laps into the race.
Those who not only picked Denny Hamlin to move past Ty Dillon, but win the entire tournament, were devastated after Hamlin crashed out in the 23-car wreck on Lap 69. He underwent repairs in the garage before returning to the track 109 laps down, but it wasn’t long after that until the veteran called it a night. He officially finished 31st.
— On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this article.
