Hamlin: We Should Have Won!

Probably the most disappointed man after the Atlanta Cup race was 3rd place Denny Hamlin. Well, maybe not as unlucky as Juan Pablo Montoya but he certainly feels he could have done better on Sunday than coming in 3rd at the finish line. Leading the race after the last caution of the day, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver lost it immediately to eventual winner Carl Edwards and failed to challenge the Missourian for the win in the dying laps of the race.

Not only that, but Hamlin was also passed by championship leader Jimmie Johnson with one more lap to go in the race, as the Hendrick Motorsport driver benefited from increased grip after changing all tires during his last pit stop. While being overtaken on the outside of Turn 3, Hamlin also struggled to keep his car from spinning and eventually finished 3rd overall.

“We struggled to get going on the restarts, which is fine. We were still okay. But, the No.99 was coming. I think I was in the middle of the track versus going high or low and he hit us. When he did, it knocked us down the race track. He chose what lane he wanted to be in when he hit us. Once you get the guy on the outside on the restart, it's over. The last lap with Jimmie, he just had position on the outside. Our car was really loose to begin with. With him beside us, we almost took him and myself out,” explained Hamlin the last few laps of the race.

The Virginian was as disappointed with his performance on Sunday as his team had set up a winning car for the Atlanta weekend. “We knew we could run well. It takes a really, really good car to win here. You've really got to have a great car. We had it today but just let it slip,” admitted Hamlin in the end.

A win on Sunday would have lifted Hamlin to 10th place in the Chase classification, ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Instead, he secured his 11th spot in the standings, extending his point-advantage over teammate Kyle Busch to 40 points with 3 races remaining in the season.