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Denny Hamlin had an optimistic approach about Kamui Kobayashi's race pace as he is set to make his second NASCAR Cup Series start at COTA.
Kobayashi will make his return to the Cup Series championship at the Circuit of The Americas on March 24th as he will be driving the Toyota under the 23XI banner. Hamlin, who is a co-owner of the team, analyzed Kobayashi's race pace on road courses, since COTA is set to be one, and he was quite impressed.
Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Denny Hamlin stated that Kamui Kobayashi managed to be faster than Tyler Reddick on the simulator. This is a very positive aspect since the latter, as he described, is faster than himself.
"In the sim he's just so fast. I mean, he's faster than Tyler, Tyler's faster than me. When it comes to that, driving on the simulator on road course, he backed it up on the race track."
Kobayashi previously made his NASCAR debut at Indianapolis last season with the 23XI. He finished the race in 33rd place after qualifying 28th.
Denny Hamlin feels Kobayashi's experience will help him at COTA
Kamui Kobayashi has raced in multiple forms of motorsport, and the Circuit of The Americas is not a strange track for him. He took part in the 2012 F1 United States Grand Prix where he finished in P14.
Other than F1, Kobayashi is also a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and has won the World Endurance Championship twice. This experience on road courses will help him perform better in the Cup Series race this weekend, feels Denny Hamlin.
"Kamui is then faster so far than him this week. I really think that he has got the talent. We know he can do it. He races all kinds of different cars at all different road courses," Hamlin said via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Kobayashi took part in the race at Indianapolis last season as well, but the race was rather "tough" for him as Hamlin stated. But he remains optimistic about this season.
"He had a bit of a tough go at his first time in Indy, but he qualified that well. Hopefully it turns out to be a better result this time. We're really optimistic," Hamlin said.
The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas is scheduled for March 24th. It is set to be a 231.8-mile race, completed over a course of 68 laps.
