While fending off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr., a new challenger was quickly approaching in Ross Chastain.
Chastain passed both of the JGR drivers and set sail. Meanwhile, Hamlin fell behind Truex as well before the final set of green-flag pit stops. Unfortunately, he lost time during the pit cycle and was never again a part of the battle for the race lead.
A stage win and a third-place finish was a strong result for the No. 11 team, but it still wasn't the race win he had hoped for.
"The field is so close, everyone is running the same time. It's real hard to get track position," said Hamlin post-race.
"I think we really had a third-place car. The entire race I thought the 19 was better. The 1 obviously came on strong there at the end. It's all we had with our FedEx Toyota. This is not the (indiscernible) day, it was a day with no mistakes. We gave ourselves a chance. Didn't have quite a fast enough car to go and contend."
Hamlin took advantage of a rather timely caution in the middle of the race that catapulted him to the front of the field, and as he said, track position was the most important thing during Sunday's 400-miler.
"With everything being the same on the car, the track position means more than anything. You got to battle. We saw some great three-wide racing early on on the restarts ... Just wish I had a little more speed. That's what we needed. "
Hamlin has been very hot and cold as of late with two top-three finishes and two DNFs in the last four races. So in the end, he was just happy to have a mistake-free day where "nothing crazy goes on."
