When Denny Hamlin revealed his “ideal racetrack” with a $5M budget in NASCAR

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin once laid out his plans to build an ideal racetrack if he were given $5 million to design a new track and an unlimited budget to bring his concept to reality. Hamlin explained that he would build a hybrid of two tracks, combining unique characteristics from two completely different racetracks.

In a 2014 interview with Jeff Gluck, Hamlin was asked what his ideal racetrack would look like if he had a $5 million design budget. The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver said the overall layout would resemble Richmond Raceway, while he would use the grittiest pavement, similar to the aging asphalt of the old Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Denny Hamlin, who grew up in Virginia, chose the D-shaped 0.75-mile oval in Richmond, describing it as a crazy yet ideal track layout. He mentioned that he would pave the track with the grittiest asphalt, similar to the surface created during the 1997 repave of Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver said he dislikes modern repaving techniques, preferring the old-school approach. He said that he would put rocks in the pavement to give the track more character.

"It would be so similar to Richmond, it's crazy. Richmond is just the ideal racetrack. I would build Richmond with the asphalt with they paved Atlanta with way back in the day," Hamlin was quoted as saying by USA Today.

"If they pave tracks now, put rocks in it like they need to do. That's how all these tracks got screwed up – they've got plastics in (the asphalt) now instead of rocks. So I would just lay the grittiest pavement you've ever seen on a track like Richmond," he added.

Modern-day Atlanta Motor Speedway is vastly different from what Denny Hamlin described in the interview. The recent reconfiguration has transformed it into a Superspeedway-style track, though it has managed to produce entertaining pack racing where drivers must time their runs.

On the other hand, Richmond Raceway, once dubbed the 'Action Track,' has seen a decline. The track, which previously hosted the regular season finale, lost its first date for the 2025 season.

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Denny Hamlin's reaction to Richmond Raceway losing a date

NASCAR took away Richmond Raceway's spring race to make room for the Mexico City event. Virginia native Denny Hamlin was disappointed to see his home track lose a date on the 2025 season calendar. He mentioned that his family has been season ticket holders for nearly four decades.

"It’s a bummer. It’s an absolute bummer for sure. But if you don’t show up these things happen. My family’s been a season ticket holder at Richmond for nearly forty years now," Hamlin told Frontstretch while reacting to the development last year [12:30 onwards]

Denny Hamlin is a five-time winner at Richmond Raceway, having led over 2,300 laps at his home track, with an 8.1 average finishing position. He nearly swept both Richmond races last year, when Austin Dillon wrecked him to take the checkered flag.

Richmond Raceway will host the Cook Out 400 on Saturday, August 16, at 7:30 PM ET, serving as the penultimate race of the regular season.