As the end of the second stage approached, Denny Hamlin was chasing Bubba Wallace for the lead, lost control and spun into the infield. There’s still a lot of time left in this NASCAR race, but that could prove to be a detriment.
Denny Hamlin was on the home stretch when he lost control, spun loose and rolled over. To his credit, Hamlin missed the wall, which probably saves him further headaches.
Bubba Wallace was leading at this point, but the leaders decided to pit after this yellow flag to get tires and fuel.
The start of the race was a real battle between Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin. Bubba Wallace took the lead as Hamlin and Larson drove side by side and dived deep into Turn 1. Wallace held on and took control.
After spinning out of control, Hamlin pressed his radio button to apologize to his team.
“Sorry, Chris (Gabeheart), damn it, I should have taken what I had,” Hamlin said, according to Matt Weaver of Sportnaut.
“Yes, we still had time, but we make mistakes and move on,” replied the experienced crew chief.
Denny Hamlin is probably just hoping he can get back to racing today. The rain has returned. That could mean a long wait and maybe even lead to the race being postponed until Monday, when it resumes. There is no official statement on that yet.
Denny Hamlin spins before the end of the first stage
Because Denny was spinning, pit stops were possible. Only a few drivers remained out at the end of the first stage. Ryan Blaney was one of those drivers, hoping to score a playoff point with a stage win. William Byron also remained out.
With the battle for the playoffs still on, stage points are so important. Bubba Wallace was able to get back in front of Chris Buescher, with both drivers battling for the same playoff spots even after he pitted.
While we got to see the first stage, stage 2 didn’t start until the rain started again. The red flag was waved, the cars drove down the pit lane and the fans prepared for more rain.
Denny Hamlin has a chance to get back into the lead in this race, but the race will have to start over for that chance to arise. Let’s hope the rain clears up quickly and we can get racing again tonight.
