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.
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).
This story will be updated.