Denny Hamlin faces playoff deficit after Stage 1 crash at Texas

Denny Hamlin's playoff path encountered a hurdle with a first-stage crash that damaged the front end of his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota and left him with a 28th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway. RELATED: Race results Hamlin lost control of the No. 11 through Turn 4 then slid to the infield grass on the 80th of 334 laps in the AAA Texas 500. His car careened off the infield asphalt of the quarter-mile layout then dug into the grass. Hamlin, who eased to pit road with significant damage to the car's right-front section, said he had ventured into the upper groove before the traction compound had fully broken in. "Just lost control. That's all there is to it," Hamlin said. "But proud of the whole FedEx team for putting their best effort to get this running with decent speed there at the end. Did the best we could and we'll go to Phoenix and try to win." The title favorite completed the first stage in 33rd place, staying on the lead lap. But he lost ground over the remaining two stages, eventually finishing six laps off the pace. Hamlin now faces a 20-point deficit below the cutline, ranked fifth among the eight remaining playoff drivers heading to the Round of 8 elimination race at ISM Raceway near Phoenix next weekend. "The car and effort will be there, that's for sure," Hamlin said. "There's no doubt in my mind we can go there and win. Especially in these circumstances, I like the challenge. So we're going go out there and give it our best shot and put our best foot forward and see if we can't get a win next week."