Denny Hamlin shed light on the unusual sequence that resulted in his Bristol crash with AJ Allmendinger, an incident that threw his race into chaos on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Denny Hamlin Bristol crash, which drew penalties and saw both drivers tangled with the wall, left many fans and NASCAR insiders wanting answers about how it unfolded.
Unraveling the Incident in Turn Three
Denny Hamlin was running in 20th place during lap 384 of the 500-lap competition at Bristol Motor Speedway. Having just pitted a few laps before, Hamlin suddenly lost control as his right front tire loosened, dramatically impacting his maneuver into Turn 3. Polesitter AJ Allmendinger, driving the No.16 Chevy for Kaulig Racing, was caught up in the resulting collision. Both Hamlin and Allmendinger’s cars made heavy contact with the outside walls as Hamlin’s loose wheel detached and rolled away from the incident. NASCAR responded quickly, penalizing Hamlin and holding him for two laps, and also imposing penalties that will sideline two #11 team pit crew members due to the loose wheel issue.
On an episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin gave his firsthand account of what transpired in those crucial moments:
“All I know is I went into turn three, I felt something kind of weird off of turn two. I turned the wheel and the thing was hanging and I was like, ‘what the hell like, am I having another major tight moment. Did I cord a tire already?’ Yeah, I just went and turned three. The car went straight, wiped out AJ. Then I was riding on three tires.”
– Denny Hamlin, Driver
The accident spelled the end of a challenging day for both drivers. Denny Hamlin ended up finishing in 31st position, while AJ Allmendinger was forced to retire after completing 408 laps, which placed him 36th in the final standings. Notably, Allmendinger had clocked the fastest lap of the race at 15.5 seconds, highlighting the disappointment of his early exit.
Race Spirals Amidst Multiple Incidents and Frustrations
The Bristol event proved tumultuous for Denny Hamlin, with several incidents stacking up over the course of the 500 laps. At one stage, Hamlin was entangled in a controversial chain reaction involving Chase Elliott and John Hunter Nemechek, incidents that only added to the night’s drama. Nemechek openly blamed Hamlin for his own misfortune during the race. Hamlin’s misadventures also included several brushes with the outside wall, evidence of the challenging conditions and pressure drivers faced as the event wore on.
Looking back on the race and its chaotic rhythm, Hamlin pinpointed exactly when he realized that the evening was likely to spiral out of control. On his podcast, he recalled:
“Pretty quickly I looked up at the top of the racetrack. I saw the marbles and I was like, ‘Oh boy, we got one of these races all right. Let’s go’, like I was actually excited to see how this played out,”
– Denny Hamlin, Driver
Playoff Standings and Next Challenges
Despite a night filled with mishaps and hard racing, Denny Hamlin remains at the top of the playoff leaderboard, largely due to his win at Gateway the previous weekend. Looking ahead, Hamlin and the Joe Gibbs Racing team are turning their focus to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the opening event of the Round of 12. The veteran driver has demonstrated strong form at the track in recent years, notching two top-10 finishes in his three latest appearances, and capturing a stage win in 2024, which stands as his best performance of the Next Gen Era.
This sequence of events underscores how quickly fortunes can change for drivers like Hamlin and Allmendinger, illustrating the unpredictable nature of NASCAR racing at Bristol. For competitors, crew members, and fans alike, each race in the series brings both risks and opportunities as the pursuit of playoff glory continues.
Pro tip: 4 tires are always better than 3… 😅🛞@dennyhamlin breaks down Bristol — Actions Detrimental, out now! 🔥
Spotify: https://t.co/TU3kebtgfj
Apple: https://t.co/A6FHoiymSf
YouTube: https://t.co/sRaADusPFU pic.twitter.com/0ZCtoRfke2— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) September 15, 2025
