Denny Hamlin Belittles Martin Truex Jr.’s Masterplan as He Reveals the Reason Behind His Kansas Slip-Up.
At Texas, just like after Richmond, a late caution again snatched victory right out of Martin Truex Jr‘s grasp. While Truex, alongside Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, has clinched two wins at Kansas, he couldn’t nail a third this time to edge closer to Denny Hamlin‘s four victories there. Truex really thought he had a chance to catch up to Hamlin if it weren’t for that pesky late caution. He had chosen to go with four tires at the final restart, which ended up putting him at a disadvantage as not many drivers opted for four tires as he had anticipated.
Truex shared, “If there was no caution, I could have caught them quickly.“ However, Denny Hamlin doesn’t quite see it the same way. Hamlin, his JGR teammate, believed he had one of the fastest cars on the track that day.
Denny Hamlin claimed that at Kansas, it wasn’t Martin Truex Jr hot on his heels that got him moving
Martin Truex Jr., during his post-race interview, mentioned he was under the impression Hamlin was close to running out of fuel. He said, “He [Denny Hamlin] was obviously going to run out of fuel from what they told me, I don’t know, but, they said he couldn’t make it, so I don’t know what uh, yeah, easily was gonna pass him, but uh, it doesn’t matter because it gotcha came out.” However, Hamlin later clarified that fuel wasn’t an issue for him. He had made sure to save enough of it.
On his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin elaborated, “I didn’t have any awareness that the 19 was coming and he didn’t pick up the pace. We just slowed down the pace so much that we, we came back to him. I felt very confident that I could have just hit the gas and gone, Chris said. […] Chris told me, he says, yeah, I was just about to tell you on the radio, go ahead and go the nineteen’s there. And I would’ve said, okay, I’ll hit the gas stop.”
When Jared Allen mentioned to Hamlin that Martin Truex Jr and his crew chief were sure they had the race locked down, Hamlin was extremely blunt with his response. He said, “It would’ve been close. I don’t know what to tell you. I just felt like if we go out on all-out speed, I’d pass Martin three times that day.” Hamlin pointed out that Truex Jr hadn’t managed to pass him once during the race, so he was pretty sure he had the upper hand in terms of speed. Truex started from 13th and methodically worked his way up, eventually tailing right behind his teammate Hamlin due to differing pit-stop strategies. However, a late caution led to another pit stop and a hectic green-white-checkered finish, where he ended up in fourth place
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, who started 14th, quickly showed his prowess by winning Stage 1, placing third in Stage 2, and, despite challenges on pit road and being blocked by Austin Hill and his crew, ending up fifth at Kansas. Unable to catch Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher in the final laps, Hamlin still made a bold statement about the championship in an interview with Fox Sports.
Before the AdventHealth 400 race last night, which was delayed by the weather, Denny Hamlin had a chat with Fox Sports. He didn’t hold back, declaring that 2024 is the year he’s going to snag his first Championship title. “This is it. This is the year. This is the year it’s going to happen,” Hamlin confidently told FOX Sports.
He even called his shots on how many wins he’ll rack up this season. During a segment on the Teardown podcast, where journalists and analysts speculated that Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry team might clinch four more wins this season, Hamlin went big with his own forecast. He boldly claimed, “Probably 22 of the next 25, I’m taking out the road courses. Other than that, that’s all I’m taking out.” His confidence in his team’s capabilities and their potential for success seemed sky-high.
Throughout his career, Hamlin has clinched 54 Cup Series races, including three Daytona 500 victories. But the elusive Cup Series Championship has always slipped through his fingers. So far this season, he’s won 3 out of twelve races and has led at least a lap in every race. Well, let’s see if 2024 is really going to be his year or not.
Neha Dwivedi is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. As a journalist, she religiously believes in the power of research, which allows her readers to dive deep into her stories and experience the detailed nuances of the sport like never before. Being proficient with Core Sport and Live Event Coverage, she has written multiple copies on the top entities of Stock Car Racing, like Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Tony Stewart.
