Denny Hamlin’s day at Texas Motor Speedway ended in flames Sunday when his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE caught fire during Stage 1. The 44-year-old driver, who sits fourth in the standings with two wins this season, revealed a surprising admission about what preceded the mechanical failure. But before he suffered this fate, Hamlin and his team weren’t on the same wavelength as he misunderstood instructions and headed to the pit road with the first caution.
“Cowboys” was the code, and it didn’t fare well for Hamlin in Texas. Instead of pulling off second stop, the driver sped on the pit road and received a penalty. This warranted another road down the pit road and ultimately resulted in a worse possible starting position on the tail end of the field. Hamlin was fuming with his team and went berserk on the radio, “You can’t call team that’s the same f—— name as another… Never mind.” To make matters worse, his car would catch fire after a few laps, resulting in his first DNF of 2025.
But after he hopped out of his race car, which was up in smoke and flames, he realized that he had a part to play in the fumble that happened on the pit road. “Yeah, miscommunication between me and the team, and, uh, they gave me a code. It was too close to another code, and, uh, it just got mixed up there.”
Denny Hamlin out early. He said he had little warning and also described what happened on missing the call to pit. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/nWpXH1ulSL
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 4, 2025
After staying out while others pitted on Lap 22, Denny Hamlin was forced to restart from 36th position. Despite climbing back to 25th, his engine expired on Lap 75, ending a 21-race streak of lead-lap finishes dating back to the 2024 Southern 500. Hamlin was evaluated and released from the infield care center after the incident.
This is a developing story.
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