Denny Hamlin clarifies ‘not in it mentally’ comments

It was a difficult day Denny Hamlin despite a top-ten finish at Kansas Speedway for the Round of 12 opener. Multiple issues on pit road set him back and cost him a shot at winning his way into the Round of 8. 

“It was just a crappy day on pit road, and we didn’t get the finish that we deserved,” said Hamlin after Sunday’s race. This is a great opportunity to lock ourselves in and instead we’re scraping and clawing to finish in the top 10.”

While speaking to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass later on, he noted that he was “not in it mentally. I can tell you that. There’s a lot of wires crossed and bolts loose at the moment.” The comments garnered a lot of attention and the comments took on a life of their own. In truth, no one would blame Hamlin if he was a bit distracted, as there is an ongoing dispute between 23XI Racing and NASCAR with Hamlin’s team recently declining to sign the charter agreement.

However, the Joe Gibbs Racing later clarified his meaning on his weekly podcast, Actions Detrimental. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota explained that he was simply responding to how he was feeling in the moment and about that race specifically, not speaking on his overall mindset.

About 43 minutes into the podcast, he addressed it directly. “I’m in the moment, in this bubble, right? I’m trying to make sense of my day and how did the result turn out and what we could have done better. So what I was saying there when they ask about my mentality … I go, ‘well mentally I’m not in it. Right now, I’m just pissed off.'”

He went on to say that the comment about having wires crossed and bolts loose “means that I’m rattled in the moment because I’m so angry about kind of how our day went. That’s what I meant. Thank God I have a podcast.”

Hamlin is above the playoff cut-line, but it’s only an 11-point buffer entering the always treacherous Talladega Superspeedway.