Fresh off a dominant NASCAR All-Star Race victory at Dover Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin is carrying a supreme level of confidence regarding his current performance. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver evaluated his recent stats to declare that he is in the midst of the most competitive 20-race stretch of his 21-year Cup Series career.
Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Hamlin feels his team’s execution has set a personal record for baseline speed, and the No. 11 Toyota is entering every oval event expecting a win. The 45-year-old driver said:
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“If we go back to kind of like the last six to seven races of last year, now the first 12 or so of this year, it’s like this is competitively like my best 20 race stretch of in my history of racing. Like speed-wise.”
However, Denny Hamlin noted that his execution on restarts remains his primary area for self-improvement as the races regularly culminate in late-race cautions and short-run sprints to the checkered flag.
“No weaknesses other than my restarts. I’ve got, I’ve got to work on that. That’s something I’ve got to get better because these races definitely come down to shoot outs at times. They’re getting better on the short run, getting, you know, continuing to get better on the road course.”
Hamlin also highlighted his solid form at road courses like Circuit of the Americas and Watkins Glen International.
Denny Hamlin had an ice-cold response after pocketing $1,000,000 from NASCAR All-Star Race
After securing a dominant victory at the NASCAR All-Star Race in Dover Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin reflected on his final run to the checkered flag for a million dollars.
In a post-race conversation, Hamlin said:
“I’m being honest, I never really had to push super hard until I got some challenge from the #45[Tyler Reddick], #19[Chase Briscoe] at the end of second segment. I don’t know. I never really was worried.”
Furthermore, Hamlin shed light on his strong Dover performance and added:
“I just got a feel for this track and kind of what it needs. so, you know, this is really, our car was fast all day but the best part was they just made it the best at the end. You know, with that second last run when we got to that big lead, I mean, it was just I never had to slip a tire. It was just so good. So, yeah, this team is just doing an amazing job of bringing me fast cars and I’m blessed to be able to drive them.”
Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team will be next seen in action for the longest race of the NASCAR calendar, the Coca-Cola 600 race on Sunday, May 24.
Edited by Sashwat Deo