Denny Hamlin feels Kyle Busch can “carry the equipment” if needed to win the NASCAR championship

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin mentioned that he believed that former teammate Kyle Busch could still "carry the equipment" after switching to RCR.

Several parallels have been drawn between the two former teammates as many believe that Hamlin has taken the title of "villain" from Busch after he got booed in Bristol following the race he won last weekend.

Kyle Busch had started the season in blazing fashion with his new team after winning three races in Auto-Club Speedway, Talladega, and Gateway. But the playoffs have presented a new challenge for Busch as the No.8 Chevy has been riddled with inconsistent performances.

In a recent interview when asked about his former teammate's move to RCR, Denny Hamlin was asked if Busch was viewed differently after moving from Joe Gibbs Racing. He cryptically replied:

“I don’t know. I mean, I think maybe the field does. I don’t necessarily. I still know that he’s great. He can carry equipment, a fair amount. That’s assuming that equipment’s not 100%, which I think it probably is. No, I don’t personally look at him any differently. I think it’s kind of like absent blows though of who’s running good right now.”

Denny Hamlin gives his honest take on Texas Motor Speedway

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver stated that the racetrack was tough after it had been reconfigured.

In his interview after the race in Texas, Denny Hamlin said:

“It’s just a tough track. When SMI reconfigured this thing, we just swung and missed on it for sure so I don’t know what you do with it. The Next-Gen car is really great on all other mile and a half, it’s just this one. There’s just no tire falloff.

"I did the tire test but Goodyear is always going to choose the most durable tire they can to not blow out and when you have that, you’re not gonna have any falloff then you’re gonna have guys with old tires go out there and win.”

His thoughts were echoed by fellow NASCAR driver Kyle Larson, who said:

“I don’t know what I would do in Texas. I think they’ve F-d it up when they remodeled the surface and the shape. I don’t think there’s really anything you can do. (Turns) 1 and 2 is the corners that needs the most help but they can’t work on that. Shorting up the dog leg is gonna do a ton.”

It will be fascinating to see if the circuit makes any changes to the racetrack after hearing the opinions of drivers like Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.