“We’re baffled, to be perfectly honest.” Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer’s words after last Fall’s Bristol race are relatable. During the 2024 Food City 500, Cup Series drivers experienced severe tire wear around the 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway. Officials scratched their heads about it, and Goodyear worked on its tires. Yet the teams’ second visit to Bristol proved futile. According to Denny Hamlin, the latter situation will prevail in the upcoming weekend.
Coming off of two back-to-back race victories, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is drumming up high expectations. What is more, Denny Hamlin won last year’s spring race in Bristol, leading a race-high 163 laps. However, the veteran sadly admitted that he would not enjoy the same race as much this year.
Denny Hamlin lets out a nostalgic sigh
The 2024 Bristol race scratched Denny Hamlin’s short-track racing itch. As the track started to eat into the tires 45 laps into a green-flag run, drivers were thrown into a challenge. With small balls of rubber gathering on the surface and teams frantically managing their tires, the race kept both drivers and fans at the edge of their seats. The race produced 54 lead changes and tires wore out after approximately 50 laps. This is how Goodyear jumped on the initiative to revamp their short-track racing product, experimenting at tracks like North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond. Yet Hamlin firmly believes that the spring Bristol glory will remain a precious memory – as the Fall race was drastically different.
In a recent episode of ‘Actions Detrimental’, Denny Hamlin let out a heavy sigh while reminiscing about his 2024 Bristol victory. “Man, I wish we had the same kind of Bristol that we had last spring. But that’s not going to happen. That was an interesting tire conservation – a billion lead changes, a billion passes, cars running 60 MPH on the apron and on the racetrack.” However, Hamlin then immediately snapped out of it by breaking the tragic news to fans: “We’re not going to see that, so temper your expectations, folks.” Goodyear implemented its softer option tires at Phoenix this year, which saw marvelous results. Drivers like Joey Logano and Ryan Preece could shoot forward with the help of these tires. However, according to experts, NASCAR will no longer implement option tires for the rest of this season.
NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Bass Pro Shops Night Race Sep 16, 2023 Bristol, Tennessee, USA NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin 11 wins the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol Bristol Motor Speedway Tennessee USA
Denny Hamlin may be breaking fans’ hearts even more with his next revelation. Last Fall’s Bristol race was a snoozer for people as Kyle Larson led 462 of 500 laps. There were only eight lead changes with little to no tire wear. Hamlin said the upcoming weekend might lean towards this race, with significant attention to strategy. “I think we’re going to see something very similar to what we had in the Fall. Same tire, nothing’s going to be changed. I think the field’s going to be really, really close. I think it’s going to be track position. And can you qualify well or can you maneuver – that’s one of the big factors of Bristol…Can you move around and get your car to run just as fast on the bottom as you can on the top. That’s been key there over the years.”
Clearly, the hype surrounding Bristol may fizzle out even before the race begins. But the hype around Denny Hamlin’s secret weapon? That might persist well through the season.
Hamlin has a team of warriors
We have seen it last year as well. During the controversial Richmond race in March 2024, Denny Hamlin’s pit crew showed who was the boss. Martin Truex Jr. had led 228 laps and yet after a late-race caution, Hamlin’s No. 11 team beat him on pit road. Similarly, the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway demonstrated how adept Hamlin’s pit crew members can be. Ryan Blaney held the lead just before Kyle Larson brought out his second caution of the day. But on the restart, Hamlin exited the pits first and rocketed off to the front. Among his team members, jackman Joel Bouagnon was the game-changer. His distinctive behind-the-back method for moving across the car to change the left-side tires worked wonders in cutting down time.
Following his victory, Denny Hamlin knew what made the difference – his pit crew’s lightning-fast speed. “I knew coming in third, I was going to have to have my best roll of the day,” Hamlin said in his post-race press conference. “That is my fastest pit roll, my fastest speed into the box. I needed to put it perfectly on the sign so they don’t have to adjust.” Joel Bouagnon also shed some of his own insights: Finishing a race like that is as good as it gets. Man, that’s kind of the moments you dream of. I’m so proud of this entire team for executing. There is not a more tense situation. That’s like the pinnacle of any pit stop performance. You want to come down on a money stop like that.”
Evidently, Denny Hamlin will still have a trick up his sleeve in the upcoming race. As we inch closer to the sequel of last year’s grand Bristol race, let us see what the race will end up being like.
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