Denny Hamlin has called out NASCAR for adding the Watkins Glen International road course race to the first playoff round. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver believes it could potentially dethrone the possible Championship 4 drivers.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course has regularly hosted playoff races and is scheduled for this year's Round of 12 as well. However, unlike previous seasons, which included one road course race in the playoffs, the 2024 Cup Series calendar has two. On September 15, Watkins Glen International will mark this year's first playoff battle on a road course, followed by the Charlotte Roval, on October 13.
Denny Hamlin believes including Watkins Glen in the Round of 16 could sideline the Championship 4 hopefuls. During the Dirty Mo Media podcast, the JGR driver expressed his views and said (via X).
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"You could have some final four contenders go out in the first round. I think that's what they (NASCAR) want. Added another road course, it certainly adds some variables that all of us drivers are going to have to make sure that we're doing the best we can and for us personally, it's going to be avoiding those 25th or worse place finishes," Hamlin said.
"That will be the key to us moving on, but I just don't know that anybody is safe with what tracks we're going to and how erratic some of these races are playing out. You just never know," the 54-time Cup Series race winner added.
In an Oval race, since there are no sharp turns, the emphasis is less on braking and more on acceleration. However, the road courses are a different game. Due to several left and right turns, road course racing witnesses way more braking than the ovals.
Thus, the drivers generally don't have the luxury of significant lead they could bank on and carefully steer through the turns to prevent rivals from closing in. Moreover, a slightly miscalculated move could result in a catastrophe, wrecking out multiple drivers in the blink of an eye.
Denny Hamlin names his 5 best road course drivers
Denny Hamlin is a veteran driver. He debuted in the Cup Series at the 2005 Banquet 400 hosted by the Kansas Speedway. The 43-year-old registered his first win in 2006 at the Pocono Raceway and has amassed 54 Cup victories thus far.
Even though Hamlin is yet to come home with a Cup Series championship, his resume boasts several notable crown jewel triumphs. The #11 Toyota driver has collected three Daytona 500 wins (2016, 2019, 2020), the 2022 Coca-Cola 600 victory, and three Southern 500 wins (2010, 2017, 2021).
With the time invested in the sport and the experience gathered, Denny Hamlin is well-versed in his rivals' strong and weak points. Speaking of road course racers, the JGR driver presented his best five picks on the 'Actions Detrimental' podcast.
“I think that there's five that's probably gonna jump out at me when I look at it. I'm gonna say (William) Byron, (Christopher) Bell, I think Ty Gibbs, (Tyler) Reddick. I think those are the ones that will always be the fastest. I mean you could throw (AJ) Allmendinger in there but even he didn't look I don't know just over the last few years just not it seems like these guys these younger guys have caught him for sure skill set wise,” Denny Hamlin said
Reddick boasts three road course race wins. Allmendinger, Byron, and Bell have two wins each registered under their name. Ty Gibbs aced four road-course races in his Xfinity Series career. After winning his debut race in 2021 at the Daytona Road Course, he reigned supreme at Watkins Glen the same year. In 2022, he claimed the Road America win and the Indy Road Course race in 2023.
