NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, on the Action Detrimental podcast, called out Hendrick Motorsports’ dismal season, commenting on the team’s slump. He reflected on HMS’ 2026 result and expressed how shocking it was for a prestigious team to not have a single driver in the Top 5 of the championship.
Hendrick Motorsports has only had a couple of wins this season with Chase Elliott behind the wheel of the No. 9 Chevrolet. Kyle Larson has had the pace and run inside the Top 5, only to have been involved in a crash, being at the end of an unforced error, or on the negative side of luck.
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Commenting on Hendrick Motorsports’ 2026 slump, Denny Hamlin said,
“I looked at [Hendrick’s] graphic after the race. Stewart-Haas, they were getting beat like a drum in their comments the last year of their existence. The old Hendrick bros, they’re starting to get in there.”
“They need to have a Snickers. They’ve not been [themselves] in a while. It’s not really indicative of their speed. They’ve always got a couple cars that are in the top five or near the top five. But just the standard [that] we expect from Hendrick Motorsports from the legacy, we expect lots of race wins. When I see William Byron in 12th, that’s mind-boggling to me,” Hamlin added.
Chase Elliott is the highest HMS driver in the standings, sitting P6 with a couple of wins to his name. Larson sits P8 and William Byron in P12. Alex Bowman missed multiple races this season due to vertigo and is only P29 in the standings.
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Although Byron, Larson and Elliott are likely to make the Chase, with the new format favoring consistent results, the championship seems like a distant dream.
Denny Hamlin suggests Kyle Larson tire blowout at Indianapolis not a luck factor
Jul 5, 2026; Joliet, Illinois, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) shakes hands with fans before the eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
Last year’s champion Kyle Larson hasn’t won a race since May 2025. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver showcased the pace to fight for the win at Sunday’s Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, only to have a tire blowout that forced him to retire.
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Denny Hamlin came out and said the blowout wasn’t bad luck but the result of a team decision. He said,
“Usually you blow a left rear, that’s not luck, folks. You can’t call things luck that someone has a role in. That was likely too low of air pressure. Or ran it too hard on the air, or the load on the left rear was too much. But they found their limit.”
In three of the last four races, Larson has finished outside the Top 30.
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