Denny Hamlin made an early exit at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday when his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota suffered an apparent engine failure after just two laps.
Hamlin’s No. 11 entry billowed thick white smoke as he crossed the road course start/finish line to complete his second lap in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. As the first retiree of the race, he took last place in the 38 cars. field, knocking him out of the lead in the Cup Series standings.
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Hamlin, who started 25th in the 110-lap race, had posted five straight top-five finishes before Sunday’s early retirement. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who entered Sunday as the series leader with a 21-point lead over Kyle Larson, said he had no indication of an engine problem until the engine expired.
“No, I didn’t notice anything,” Hamlin said. “I was just trying to get up to speed, but no, that definitely came out of nowhere, right away.”
Hamlin’s worst finish of the season dropped him two spots in the standings to third, 26 points behind race winner Larson and 12 points behind second-place Chase Elliott, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
