Denny Hamlin's awful day at Iowa was a missed opportunity for the No. 11 team

Denny Hamlin.

Going into Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, Denny Hamlin was considered one of the favorites to win. When the checkered flag flew over the Iowa Corn 350, however, you would have barely known that Hamlin cranked up his engine.

After winning two races on short tracks — Martinsville and Richmond — earlier in the season, Hamlin was considered a heavy favorite going into the inaugural Cup Series race at the Iowa Speedway. A 7/8 mile oval similar in character to Richmond, the track type seemed to bode well for Hamlin and the No. 11 team.

Hamlin qualified a solid 12th on Saturday, but shortly after the green flag flew, Hamlin's Toyota Camry XSE began to drop like a rock, getting passed left and right. By the end of Stage One, Hamlin had fallen all the way back to 34th.

In Stage Two, Hamlin was able to take advantage of a caution flag to get track position, earning five much-needed state points. Unfortunately, that meant he was right in the middle of the action when Kyle Larson spun off the front bumper of Daniel Suarez.

Hamlin's car was already not handling to his liking, so adding a significant amount of damage certainly didn't help. Hamlin was stuck back in 18th on the ensuing restart, and quickly faded to the rear of the field, once again going a lap down.

While Hamlin did gain a few spots late in the going, a 24th-place finish is all he could muster up, marking a disastrous two-week stretch in which Hamlin has scored a grand total of 19 points. After five consecutive top-five finishes — a stretch that dated from Dover on April 28 to St. Louis on June 2 — Hamlin had been vaulted to the points lead. After two poor results in a row, he sits third in the regular-season standings, 38 points back of leader Chase Elliott.

Iowa served as a missed opportunity for Hamlin for both a good points day and a potential race win. While days like this in the regular season don't hurt too bad, 24th-place runs are inexcusable in the playoffs, and the No. 11 team can't risk missing this badly on a setup come the postseason.

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