Missed opportunity. That’s what Denny Hamlin will feel after finishing runner-up at Pocono Raceway. Despite starting on pole at The Great American Getaway 400, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran fell short of another triumph at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, with teammate Chase Briscoe taking the victory. The No. 19 Toyota not only outlasted Hamlin but also kept the 44-year-old at bay thanks to the turbulent air, which proved to be the difference maker in the end.

Meanwhile, Chase Elliott, who ended up fifth at the 2.5-mile tri-oval, also had the same complaint about dirty air. And he wasn’t alone either, with plenty of others in the garage opening up about Pocono Raceway’s longstanding problem, even before the Next-Gen car was introduced in 2022.

Denny Hamlin felt helpless at Pocono Raceway

Being in the lead is somewhat of a hack at Pocono Raceway. The leader has the advantage of breaking through the undisturbed air, allowing their cars to perform better. It’s no secret that passing has become more difficult over time, with four generations of race cars in the last two decades not being able to solve a recurring issue in stock car racing, especially at the Tricky Triangle. Speaking to Frontstretch about dirty air, Chase Elliott said, “There are some guys that do pretty good with it. [I need to] do a better job in turn 3. I think that would’ve helped our cause, for sure. But you’re going to hear more of it. Just wait.”

His words proved to be true. Even though Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, with Elliott even serving a suspension in the past for right rear-hooking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte, the veteran driver had similar complaints in the post-race interview. He told Frontstretch’s Dalton Hopkins, “Every time I tried to stay really close to him (Briscoe), I would get really tight, and then it would let the 12 [Ryan Blaney] come back to me. So, at that point, I’m just trying to keep a little bit of an air gap there to allow my car to cool off and try to make another run at him. But, this amount of corner speed, you just can’t overcome the aerodynamic effect, and it’s been Pocono for 25, 30 years.”

In the closing laps, Denny Hamlin was desperately trying to catch up with Chase Briscoe. The No. 19 Toyota didn’t just need to keep his teammate at bay, but also conserve fuel after a rather quick pitstop made his job much more difficult. But it didn’t matter in the end, as the 30-year-old coasted his way through, taking advantage of the clean air to maintain at least a four-car-length gap with the No. 11, who simply couldn’t catch up in the end.

Briscoe’s crew chief, James Small, offered a simple explanation. “Clean air is important,” he said. Small went on to reveal what proved to be the difference maker, “We’ve seen it before. You’re capable of being able to lead and save fuel here, and do the right thing, and drive well. It was a long run on tires there, the guys were following in dirty air as well, which helped.”

Just like Hamlin, Elliott also found it difficult to make passes at Pocono Raceway, and looked visibly disappointed while he sat on his No. 9 Chevrolet with one leg on the ground and the other on his window net. However, neither of them was alone in their aero issues with Pocono.

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Chris Buscher opens up about Pocono Raceway’s problems

It’s no secret that the Next-Gen car struggles to make passes. But what was more frustrating is that even after four years, conversations around dirty air ruining the race at tracks like Pocono are still topics of discussion. While Chase Briscoe should be given credit for saving fuel for almost 40 laps around a 2.5-mile track, dirty air also played a big role in Denny Hamlin not being able to overtake his teammate. This allowed the No. 19 driver to lift when he could, which made all the difference in the end.

Fourth-place finisher for RFK Racing, Chris Buescher, didn’t hold back after the race. He said, “Pocono is always bad. But it’s a pretty weird track. It has two lanes, but you know the problem is on the outside you have to cross the wake of the car in front of you first, so it’s not faster.” This means that all Briscoe needed to do was aero block Hamlin behind him to maintain the lead, forcing the veteran racer to lose all momentum.

In an ideal scenario, dirty air shouldn’t dictate the Next-Gen car’s performance as much as it does. But as Denny Hamlin said, this isn’t anything new, especially at Pocono Raceway. Stock cars have struggled to make passes at the 2.5-mile facility for almost three decades now, and unless NASCAR makes significant changes to the vehicle, the problems will continue. What are your thoughts about The Great American Getaway 400? Let us know in the comments!