Denny Hamlin doesn’t have faith in this weekend’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway being the cleanest affair.
With only William Byron locked into the Round of 8 and a host of drivers looking for a victory, the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman believes it could get dicey. That’s not a far fetched thing to say whenever NASCAR takes their talents to a super-speedway, and Hamlin believes the usual will come true.
“We’re going to Talladega now. It’s going to be, I don’t know, I thought Daytona would be a s— show, it didn’t really turn out to be, as much. I guess I’ll call this week, another s— show,” Hamlin predicted, via Actions Detrimental.
As Hamlin mentioned, NASCAR’s regular season finale at Daytona was surprisingly caution-free, as Chris Buescher drove to Victory Lane. A ton remains on the line at Talladega, as NASCAR’s Playoffs continue, and seven drivers look to lock their title hopes in for another round.
Earlier this season, it was Kyle Busch who took home the trophy at Talladega, with Ryan Blaney and the aforementioned Buescher following across the start-finish line. Both Busch and Blaney could use a win in the worst way to move forward, and it’s evident they’ll be some of the drivers their peers are looking out for on Sunday.
Talladega always presents a unique challenge, and Sunday’s event should be no different. Denny Hamlin is expecting a s— show, and it’s going to be fascinating to see what ultimately unfolds.
Denny Hamlin says Bubba Wallace, No. 23 team should be happy with performance at Texas
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin believes Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team should be happy with their performance at Texas Motor Speedway.
While Wallace was visibly disappointed after the race despite his P3 finish, Hamlin had some words of encouragement for the 23XI Racing driver, elaborating on why Wallace and company should have their heads held high.
“They’re running strong. Certainly, they’re strong contenders,” explained Hamlin, via Actions Detrimental. “They qualified great. They ran great. They lead 100 and something laps. It’s, you’ve got to feel pretty good about it.
“But they also missed out on a lot of stage points. But they’re trying to win the race. At the time they think, ‘Hey, we’ve got a race-winning car, so we’re going to pit.’ We did the same thing on the No. 11. We pitted the same time they pitted.”
Regardless, Bubba Wallace believed he had a shot of winning Texas, and locking in his spot in the Round of 8. Now, the 23XI Racing wheelman will have to survive Talladega and the Charlotte Roval to keep his championship hopes alive.
Nevertheless, Denny Hamlin was proud of Bubba Wallace’s run on Sunday, and believes the wins are coming. We’ll see if he can find Victory Lane before it’s too late.