HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin knew the odds were stacked against them heading into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The hill toward stealing a championship away from Kyle Larson proved too tall to climb, but it sure wasn’t from a lack of effort from the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
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Bell (46 laps) and Hamlin (87) combined to lead 133 of Sunday’s 267 laps and ultimately finished the 400-mile contest fourth and sixth, respectively. The battle for the championship was out of reach after Larson clinched the title at the conclusion of Stage 1, but the fight for second was alive and well: Bell entered just three points ahead of Hamlin for the position. At night’s end, Bell landed second in the final championship rundown, 49 points behind Larson, with Hamlin third, 56 points back.
“I would have been really disappointed if we didn’t hold second for sure,” Bell said. “And I knew it was going to be a battle. We knew that he was going to be fast, but I don’t feel proud that I won second. I guess I feel like I should have maintained second, and we did that. So we checked the box and didn’t lose it.”
A late caution triggered a round of pit stops on Lap 254 with 13 laps remaining, with Hamlin emerging second on the front row alongside William Byron. Bell was the third car on the inside row, fifth in the running order. Hamlin knew a win would’ve propelled him ahead of Bell … but that he also had nothing to lose. That aggression led Hamlin into the outside wall and sank Hamlin.
“[Crew chief Chris Gayle] told me that we needed to win,” Hamlin said. “I mean, that’s why I drove it straight in the fence. I was trying to get to the lead and knew that I wasn’t gonna get caught by any of the rest of the guys, so I tried to do everything I could to get to the outside. Just couldn’t quite hold it. But he told me that Bell needed to drop one or I needed to win the race. I wasn’t gonna count on Bell dropping one.”
MORE: Watch Hamlin’s post-race interview
The disappointment in falling short of the championship wasn’t so palpable post-race at Homestead after each Bell and Hamlin contended for the race win. Both knew the chances were about the same as winning the lottery, and Hamlin said he was “definitely at peace with this well before this weekend.”
Both also expressed their respect for Larson, who executed an extraordinary performance throughout The Chase presented by Mobil 1 that allowed the No. 5 team to clinch the championship before the race had reached its halfway point.
“Kyle did a great job. He did exactly what he needed to do,” Bell said. “He clinched it in Stage 1 whenever he got the fourth-place points and they were the best team throughout the 10 weeks. So I will always say that this is way better than what we had for sure. … But it creates high-intensity moments throughout the entire Chase, not just at the last race. So the 5 car earned their buffer for what they had today, and they did. They executed the race exactly like they needed to. So credit to them.”
Hamlin was pleased with his No. 11 team’s performance at Homestead, leading his most laps at Homestead since he last won at the 1.5-mile oval in 2020, when he paced the field for 137 laps.
“That was as competitive as we’ve been at this track for quite a few years,” Hamlin said. “I knew [the championship] was over at the end of Stage 1, but I still thought that we put together a pretty good race. And it developed a chance on that last few laps. It just didn’t quite work out.”