No title driver in the current playoff elimination format had led more than 180 laps in the finale; Hamlin paced the pack 208 times. Going into the third stage, Hamlin’s pit crew struggled on the left side, setting Hamlin outside the top 10. But Hamlin overcame that hurdle and drove forward.

Hamlin held the lead until second-place running William Byron blew a tire and hit the wall with two laps to go. Hamlin fell behind title contender Kyle Larson in the pits and couldn’t get ahead.

“I really don’t have much emotion right now,” Hamlin said after losing to Larson. “Just numb.”

Hamlin didn’t expect to restart ninth, but enough drivers flipped the strategy to set Hamlin back.

“I didn’t think it was over,” Hamlin said. “I just didn’t think there would be that many cars that took two tires. It’s really hard to predict how many cars are going to do things like that.”

While a six-win season and a championship berth sound great on paper, there was far more at stake. Hamlin is the winningest driver in NASCAR without a title and admitted publicly that retirement is coming sooner rather than later. His chances at the title are slowly slipping away.

"It's just unfortunate,” Hamlin said. “The last couple times I’ve been doing this, either wasn’t fast enough, or circumstances. There were some untimely yellows in the last time I did this.”

Even when the pit stops were slow and his Toyota battled clutch issues, Hamlin never gave up.

“Did the best I could,” Hamlin said. “The team brought a great championship car. I felt like I drove it just right, up until two laps to go. Yeah, this is the part that stinks.”

During the final overtime, Hamlin fought back to finish sixth. When his No. 11 came to rest on the pit road, Hamlin emerged from the car to the embrace of fiancée Jordan Fish and his whole crew.

“We're 40 seconds from a championship,” Hamlin said. “One of those life lessons years down the road.”

Hamlin knows his career is Hall of Fame worthy and is proud of his accomplishments, but he desires nothing more than to give back to those who got him to this point.

“The championship,” Hamlin said. “It wouldn’t have changed anything, I felt truly about myself. I wanted it so bad for everyone else, all of my supporters, all my friends and family, and whatnot, that they want it so bad.”