Denny Hamlin is placing the majority of the blame for some NASCAR fans hating on last weekend’s race on Phoenix Raceway itself, not the Next Gen short track package.
Evidently, Hamlin believes the track might just be one that doesn’t lend itself to a good product on the track, and perhaps it’s time we all just accept Phoenix for what it is.
“I guess my only thing is that, I think the fans fed off of what the driver said a little bit in practice, and they had this thing under a microscope,” Hamlin stated, via his Actions Detrimental podcast. “And they looked at the race and says, ‘Oh, it’s not better, not better. It looks the same.’ It’s looked the same for a very long time, right? So you know, I see in our notes here, ‘Is this just what Phoenix is, should we accept it as such?’ Probably should.
“I mean it’s — it’s just a difficult track to pass on. You know, and so it has been for quite some time. Richmond will be the same. I mean, it will. So we have to just understand that this is kind of what we have now, and let’s make the best of it.”
While Hamlin’s weekend was solid, capturing the pole and fighting back from a spin to finish P11, he was a little surprised the rest of the NASCAR world wasn’t as enthusiastic regarding the race as he was when the checkered flag waved to end the afternoon.
“There was there was not utter domination by anyone,” Hamlin added, regarding the competition in the desert. “I mean, there was three cars that dominated the first two stages. And then you know, you had CBell driving from P21, to the lead, in the final stage.”
Regardless, the race didn’t score well among fans and some drivers alike, even if Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell had an awesome time. The matter of fact is that this wasn’t a surprise among many, as fans braced themselves ahead of time for the race at Phoenix.
Now, NASCAR’s problem becomes whether or not they can change anything to improve the product before taking the campaign to Phoenix for their Championship 4 race in November. While last season’s race had some drama due to Ross Chastain, this isn’t a new sentiment towards the track.
Time will tell if there’s something to be done, or if Phoenix is simply unfixable. Denny Hamlin is leaning towards the latter, it seems.
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