"I think it's going to be an absolute crash fest”- Denny Hamlin makes big prediction for final NASCAR Cup race at Daytona

NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Yahoo! Toyota, waits backstage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on August 13, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season draws to a close this Sunday at Daytona International Speedway and Denny Hamlin has some rather spicy predictions. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has often been correct with his predictions, excluding maybe his Chase Elliott making it into the playoffs prediction.

The highest echelon of stock car racing take the green flag one last time on August 27 to decide the 16th and final playoff contender for the postseason. With 15 drivers already locked into the playoffs, many drivers such as Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott, and Ty Gibbs find themselves in and around the cutoff bubble.

Drivers will be looking to make it into the postseason on points alone. The rest of the field is also expected to be pushing flat out to secure one last victory in the regular season, earning them a playoff spot automatically. This increase in aggression throughout the field could lead to spectacular crashes at the 2.5-mile-long Florida superspeedway, according to Denny Hamlin.

He elaborated on the same on Actions Detrimental, his popular podcast:

"Superspeedway racing is different than it used to be. We've talked about this a billion times. Everyone's going to try and go right from lap one. I do think that this is going to be a, just an absolute crash-fest. I think that the pushes are going to get too extreme."

Denny Hamlin might be one of the few drivers who might be taking it easy on the first lap of the race, as would other drivers already locked into the playoffs.


Denny Hamlin's take on Chase Elliott running out of fuel at Watkins Glen International

A lot has been said and done around Chase Elliott's questionable strategic calls at Watkins Glen that saw him stranded on the track. Denny Hamlin has now shared his thoughts on the same.

The #11 Toyota Camry TRD driver made the best use of his available platform, his podcast Actions Detrimental to voice his opinion on the issue, saying:

"I just find it so extremely bizarre, not Chase, not Alan, or not anyone that heard that communication multiple times did not raise their hands and say, ‘Are we sure our math is correct? ”

Watch Denny Hamlin close out the regular season as the sport goes live from Daytona for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 this Sunday.

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