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The driver of the #11 FedEx Toyota Camry TRD for Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin, is one of those drivers who has had a tumultuous 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The 400-mile-long FireKeepers Casino 400 saw the 41-year-old finish in P3 after Toyota cars seemed to dominate the 1.5-mile-long speedway. Hamlin's race was far from perfect, however, as a penalty during one of the pit stops seemed to hamper the #11 crew's progress during the race.
The Tampa, Florida native claimed to have a great car to fight for yesterday's win against Bubba Wallace Jr., driver for 23XI Racing, a team Hamlin co-owns, also challenging for the win. A pit-stop error by the #11 crew, however, dampened the team's spirits as more than the allowed number of personnel were spotted over the pit wall by the governing body. This resulted in Kevin Harvick taking a much-awaited win in the 2022 season, with the Ford driver managing to pip the faster Toyotas.
Denny Hamlin spoke about the frustrations of an outcome like yesterday in a post-race interview and said:
“It’s just frustrating. We’ve had really fast cars throughout the year and Dover comes to mind and Pocono comes to mind and this race comes to mind and a bunch of others. Just can’t get a W [win] in the column. Hats off to Joe Gibbs Racing for giving me a car that fast and my team for setting it up really good.”
The veteran driver also elaborated on how pit stops are a crucial aspect of winning races and said:
“This is a piece of the puzzle you have to have to win races. Everyone has to do their job to the best of their ability and we just are lacking in one little section of our team that we just can’t hem up.”
Watch the complete interview below:
Denny Hamlin speaks on how to improve team's performance going forward
After a disappointing finish at yesterday's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway for Denny Hamlin, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver spoke about why he was not happy with his P3 finish.
Following a penalty handed to Hamlin for having more than the allowed number of personnel over the pit wall during a pit stop, the 41-year-old spoke his mind on what needs to be done to avoid such incidents in the future. He said:
“I’m not really sure how you fix it. I’m not smart enough to run the department to fix it. I just hope that we make strides and keep getting better. It’s just frustrating when you have fast cars like our Toyotas did this weekend, there’s just absolutely no excuse for not winning.”
Catch Denny Hamlin racing next weekend at the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway.
