“It was nerve-racking”: Denny Hamlin unravels his anxiousness as 23XI Racing driver left former’s car in “detrimental” state 

Denny Hamlin has reflected on his anxious mindset after his co-owned team, 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick smashed into the former's #11 Toyota. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver's NextGen car suffered a hard hit from Reddick's Toyota at the newly configured Turn 7.

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 largely went uneventful and witnessed no overtime restart that could've changed the outlook of the final result. However, the Turn 7 hairpin upset many drivers, namely, Austin Dillon, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick, to name a few.

During the Lap 30 restart, as the driver steered through the turn, Dillon spun sideways, cascading into traffic in the rear. Reddick was running in proximity to Hamlin, but his pursuit to capitalize from the inside of Turn 7 proved costly, not only for him but for his 23XI boss as well. Reddick's #45 Toyota drifted sideways, traded paint with Hamlin's ride, and went airborne for a split second.

The "hurting" impact damaged Denny Hamlin's car as it furthered into Chase Briscoe's Ford. Nonetheless, after a sublime pitstop, the 54-time Cup Series race winner returned to the track and surged from potentially getting dethroned from the playoffs to keeping his title fight alive.

After safeguarding his Round of 8 advancement, the JGR driver reflected on his run and said (via Bob Pockrass).

"It hurt the car, it knocks up a lot of alignment in the rear. My steering wheel went from being straight to 3'o clock. So, certainly had a detrimental outcome to my car but certainly, Chris (Gabehart-crew chief) did a great job with his adjustments to compensate for the handling that bent toe link did," Hamlin said.

"The biggest nerve-rack is at the end, just hoping no cautions. I know I'm in a good spot, I can afford to give one spot here or one spot there, but I could've bleed 10 spots (if caution arose). It just was nerve-racking to want to see that green light stay green," the JGR driver added.

Placed sixth, Denny Hamlin will enter the Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with an 8-point deficit under the cutline.

"I thought I was going to flip": Tyler Reddick opens up on his wreck involving boss Denny Hamlin

Tyler Reddick's blistering fast qualifying session exhibited a potentially promising outcome, as the #45 driver locked the front row in P2. The 23XI Racing driver dominated Stage 1 and collected valuable points to keep himself in the championship.

However, tragedy struck in the second stage. After clearing Martin Truex Jr., Reddick lunged to outmaneuver Denny Hamlin but wrecked his team's co-owner. As a result, the #45 Toyota succumbed to a 36th-place finish in Stage 2, while Hamlin rounded up in P11.

But tables turned during the final dash to the checkered flag, with Reddick fiercely challenging Joey Logano for the advancement. Though the Team Penske driver netted an eighth-place finish, the 23XI driver's P11 finish sidelined Logano from the playoffs by a mere four points.

“Yeah, I thought I was going to flip, but I think I was behind the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) — trying to work the move to the inside,” Reddick said of the wreck. “I got clear of him — I saw the 3 (Dillon) spun and everyone on the binders coming to a stop, and of course, me and my boss (Hamlin) get together. It was like I was going to do a front flip. This thing was absolutely destroyed," Reddick said about the crash via NASCAR.

After Alex Bowman failed to qualify for the post-race inspection, Logano got reinstated in the playoffs, while the HMS driver exited the fight.