Denny Hamlin discusses heartbreaking loss at Martinsville in 2026

Denny Hamlin dominated the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Hamlin won the first two stages after starting on the pole, leading 292 of the 400 laps at Martinsville. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver fell short of victory lane, losing to Chase Elliott in heartbreaking fashion.

Following the event, Hamlin spoke about losing to Elliott at Martinsville. It was a shocking defeat and Hamlin might have had an issue in the final run that affects his chances of winning on Sunday. "[Chase Elliott] did a good job to control the pace there," Hamlin said.

"Just really came from that bad restart I had beside the one. Not much really I could have done there. Felt like we gave it our all...

I thought I had a loose wheel. We’ll check it out. Just felt similar to Darlington in the back.