TRENDING Chiefs vs. Seahawks updates NFL Week 7 Winners and Losers Antonelli wins U.S. GP CFB Winners and Losers Rodgers makes history Story by Story by Denny Hamlin blasts Next Gen: “A sports car not meant to be running 200mph” Motorsport photo Nick DeGroot Mon, October 26, 2026 at 12:23 AM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denny Hamlin finished eighth at Talladega Superspeedway, but the driver he's chasing for the championship won the race. As a result , Hamlin leaves Talladega 73 points behind Kyle Larson with his 2026 title hopes slipping away.
When asked if he can overcome the deficit, Hamlin said after the race: "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not." It's not over, but it will take a huge race weekend at Martinsville for him to remain in realistic contention.
Hamlin was also frustrated by the fuel-saving game , offering some critical remarks for the Next Gen (or Gen-7) race car, which brought a new aero package to Talladega: "Unfortunately for us, they designed a car that just has so much drag in it. The racing was definitely different, handling played a factor, but it's not like it used to be. You can't take any more spoiler off this thing. It's a sports car not meant to be running 200mph."
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Reflecting further on his day, Hamlin had mixed emotions over the outcome.
"I mean, if you asked me to start the day would I take an eighth, I mean, probably," said Hamlin. "I guess so. But obviously, the 5's [Larson] on a massive run at the right time of the year. And so it's just -- that's what we got. It's disappointing, but also like our day could have been a shit ton worse. We didn't get stage points. We tried, but it's just lots of games going on. It's really, really tough to do it."
On the final lap, Hamlin was in a great position pushing Stenhouse into the lead, and said he "was committed to stay with Ricky, because I knew he was gonna do what was best for him and not what he was told to do (by Chevrolet)."
However, he then got clipped by Todd Gilliland, knocking him into Austin Hill and destroying all momentum the No. 11 had. He got swamped by the pack and fell back to eighth as Larson surged forward to claim victory.
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Source: Sports
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