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Leading the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway after managing to pass his teammate Martin Truex Jr. at one point, Denny Hamlin almost managed to win on Sunday.
The final stage of the 400-mile-long event in Music City saw the #11 and #19 Toyota Camry TRDs fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing battle for position. However, Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain managed to trump both Toyotas, showcasing long-run pace in the race.
In a race that was enjoyed by both analysts of the sport such as broadcasters and fans alike, the Ally 400 showcased great racing throughout the NASCAR Cup Series field.
Another point to be noted about the event was the lack of persistent caution flag periods, allowing drivers to form a rhythm on the track without the interruptions of a restart.
Denny Hamlin elaborated on how the field is evenly matched in terms of pace after a P3 finish in Nashville and said:
"The field is so close, everyone is running the same time. It's real hard to get track position. With everything being the same on the car, the track position means more than anything. You got to battle. We saw some great three-wide racing early on on the restarts. Just wish I had a little more speed. That's what we needed."
Denny Hamlin's race was also somewhat altered as the Tampa native came in for his green-flag pitstop. Losing time to Chastain as well as Truex Jr. despite a good stop from his crew, Hamlin was unable to challenge for the lead after the fact.
Denny Hamlin feels he finished where he deserved to during Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway
Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin felt he made the most out of his machinery at Sunday's Ally 400 in Music City. Speaking about how he could not manage to hold off Martin Truex Jr. as well as Ross Chastain despite great execution in the race, Hamlin elaborated in a post-race interview:
"I think we really had a third-place car. The entire race I thought the #19 (Truex Jr.) was better. The #1 (Chastain) obviously came on strong there at the end. It's all we had with our FedEx Toyota. It is an optimized day, it was a day with no mistakes. We gave ourselves a chance. Didn't have quite a fast enough car to go and contend."
Watch NASCAR go live from the streets of Chicago for the Grant Park 220 next weekend.
