DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- An L2-level penalty knocked Denny Hamlin out of contention for the regular-season championship and 15 bonus playoff points. The veteran driver called this a gut punch but also explained why it's not a season-ender.
"You can get a little spur of motivation from things like this," Hamlin said Friday at Daytona. "Absolutely, I think that the team received it in a sense where they're motivated.
"I'm certainly motivated, but again, I don't need motivation. I just need results, right? And I'm going to do the best I can to get the team the results that they deserve each week."
The penalty came from Toyota Racing Development disassembling Hamlin's Bristol-winning engine before NASCAR could inspect it. This was an oversight on TRD's end, but it led to severe consequences.
Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing each lost 75 points and 10 playoff points. Crew chief Chris Gabehart received a $100,000 fine.
The three-time Daytona 500 winner is now sixth in the standings with 711 points. He is only eight points ahead of teammate Christopher Bell and 29 points ahead of Martin Truex Jr.
Hamlin heard about the penalty before NASCAR made the announcement. The team and TRD told him on Wednesday that they needed to meet. They delivered the bad news the following day.
"Trust me, I walked in the room and saw it was just me and my crew chief and (TRD) and Gibbs, I knew it was something bad," Hamlin said. "Listen, they didn't enjoy that moment any more than I did."
Hamlin can't change the past, nor can TRD. All they can do is move forward to Daytona, Darlington, and ultimately, the playoffs. He has several opportunities ahead of him at tracks where he has previously won.
He can gain points. He just can't get back those that he lost.
This penalty will linger over Hamlin and the No. 11 team. It is one that Hamlin said makes him vulnerable as he seeks the elusive Cup Series championship.
"You celebrate these one-point stage victories and race victories so much because you know that, man, every round I've got that," Hamlin said. "And when I look at like -- we were in contention for the regular season, that's gone. ... (Ryan) Blaney wasn't going to reach us any point.
"So the worst we were going to be was fourth. We could go back to eighth, ninth. It's not just those 10 points, it's the seven, eight others that we're going to miss out on every round. Cumulative, it could be 50 or so points, and so that's the gut punch."