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Denny Hamlin was going out to practice with the first group on the streets of Chicago, but the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota didn’t make it very far.
He didn’t even start a flying lap before the car started smoking, dumping oil and ultimately spinning out. Hamlin didn’t hit anything, but the internal damage was enough to end his practice before it had even begun.
“We want to be in control as drivers,” Hamlin told TNT Sports. “We want to be in control of our result. You don’t want to have processes or mechanical (issues) stop you from that, and obviously this is a race track where it’s important to have reps. We spend hours upon hours practicing, getting ready — all that stuff and you know, couldn’t even make a pace lap before we blew up.”
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Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time mechanical gremlins have plagued Hamlin during the 2025 season. He suffered DNFs at both Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway due to similar issues, even going up in flames at Texas.
Chicago is a track that hasn’t been kind to Hamlin in the past either. He started from pole in 2023, but wrecked on the second lap of the race. He did rebound to finish 11th, but last year, he finished 30th in a tumultuous day for the No. 11 car.
And after getting zero practice time on Saturday, Hamlin will start from the rear of the field for the main event on Sunday. It will be a difficult task ahead as he tries to march through the field at the tricky street course.
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