No driver did a better job at managing his tires than Denny Hamlin during Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Hamlin led a race-high 163 laps, outlasting Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. to earn the victory. He finished as one of five drivers on the lead lap, picking up his second consecutive win at Bristol. While Hamlin of course grabbed the headlines for his performance, he certainly couldn’t have pulled it off without his team.
Hamlin made sure to heap praise on his pit crew on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, saying he believes 2024 “will be a big year for us.”
“My team is just on it when it comes to that right now,” Hamlin said. “We’re in a really, really good place. As long as I continue to do a decent job, I think that we can win a lot of races this year. Obviously, counting the Clash, we got two wins out of the first six. I said to many friends and family, this will be a big year for us.”
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For a driver of Hamlin’s caliber who has 52 Cup Series wins to his name, a big year can only mean one thing: Winning a Cup Series championship. It’s the only thing missing from Hamlin’s Hall of Fame career. Time will tell if 2024 will be his year, but Bristol was a good start at getting there.
Once it became clear tire management would be the theme of the race, Hamlin knew he had a great chance at coming out on top. Holding back Truex was all he needed to do.
“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston, Martinsville. Once it became a tire management race, I really liked our chances. Obviously, the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team,” Hamlin said. “The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them.”
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