Denny Hamlin finished 28th in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Phoenix Raceway after having a right-rear tire go down in the final stage.
The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver ran inside the top five before the incident and had to pit for a new set of tires. Hamlin ultimately lost a lap before a Cody Ware caution on Lap 223.
Hamlin was in line to get the free pass for being the first car a lap down, but was caught speeding on pit entry while limping the No. 11 to pit road and was ineligible to get his lap back. He also could not take the wave around, forcing him to restart from the tail of the field.
MORE: Unofficial results | Phoenix weekend schedule
Hamlin took the Lap 230 restart one lap down in 31st.
Hamlin entered the seventh race of The Chase presented by Mobil 1 49 points below Larson for the points lead, but cut 18 markers into Larson’s points lead after the No. 5 had a tire go down late and crashed in the Freeway Insurance 500.
The No. 11 driver now goes into Talladega Superspeedway next Sunday with a 31-point deficit to the points lead (2 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) as just three races remain until a champion is crowned.
This story will be updated.