Denny Hamlin had main pit highway points in the course of the NASCAR Cup Sequence Playoff race at Kansas, and two insiders have so much to say about it. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reacted to Hamlin’s pit crew struggling throughout Sunday’s race.
“Completely disastrous day,” Gluck mentioned. “Is he beneath the minimize line? No, he’s plus-11. However going into Talladega, going into the ROVAL, actually two races the place something might occur, you most likely don’t really feel tremendous nice about that in case you are Denny Hamlin.”
Bianchi mentioned that Hamlin scored the fewest factors on Superspeedways this season, which means the upcoming Talladega race could possibly be an issue for him. “I checked out this race in Kansas as not a must-win however a must-perform,” he mentioned about Hamlin. “You go there, you bought to get stage factors, you gotta depart there with a very good end. Get as a lot as you may get since you don’t know if these subsequent two weeks are going bought be like.
Extra on Denny Hamlin’s pit highway issues
“…That is the epitome of a missed alternative on a monitor the place you’re the energetic wins chief, the place you lead all people in top-five finishes, the place you’re going to be one of many two or three guys all people seems to be at because the man to beat. Actually had a automobile that was able to that at the moment, and also you don’t do this. You don’t win, you don’t get an important end, you don’t get any stage factors.”
Hamlin completed eighth on Sunday however believes the struggles on pit highway stop him from successful. “They know that at the moment was one in every of their worst days ever,” Hamlin mentioned. “They’ll simply go work to scrub it up.”
As a result of points on pit highway, Hamlin was behind the again, which made it difficult to work his method in the direction of the entrance. “I don’t know, I’ve had some fairly unhealthy days, however simply yeah, horrible day,” Hamlin added. “Got here out fifteenth, twentieth, then we had a free wheel. Simply horrible. Horrible day.”
He continued: “We had the quickest automobile, however each time we get to the highest three the warning comes out and we restart fifteenth, twentieth. Can’t present how briskly your automobile is if you’re again of the pack. All you are able to do is simply maintain making positions again as much as the entrance again and again and over and finally you simply run out of laps and another person wins.”
