Motorsport photo Denny Hamlin's homecoming weekend and Richmond Raceway unfortunately didn't end in victory lane. The No. 11 team battled for a fourth-place finish with a blistering final stretch on the track, but two brutal pit stops made it impossible for Hamlin to ever truly contend for the race win against the top duo of Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe. Hamlin explained his team's struggle in the pit lane after the race, saying that a broken jack stop cost them dearly. "The last 100 was extremely fast," Hamlin said. "Obviously had two stops — the left-side jack stop was broken. It fell down, they couldn’t get the jack under the car, so that’s 10 seconds worth of extra pit stop. I think we ended 11 behind." Hamlin was happy with the strategy and the team's overall performance, and praised his team for continually improving the car over the course of the weekend. "This was an average race for us," he said. "We weren’t exceptional. We were much better than what we were here yesterday. Team made amazing adjustments overnight and then again amazing adjustments for the last 100. I just put us too far behind with some bad restarts, and obviously those last two pit stops."
Hamlin stands more than 100 points clear of the field in the Cup Series standings with two races to go before the start of the Chase, and is almost definitely locked into the top spot heading into the postseason. The No. 11 team will have to stay sharp, but if they can keep putting in strong performances, Hamlin is in position to finally win his first championship this year. To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.