Playing chess with cars and using the track as his board is what Denny Hamlin does best. NASCAR racer and analyst Corey LaJoie knows what it is like to think like Denny Hamlin, thanks to his firsthand experience spending time with the driver. As a result, he has issued a warning to the entire grid about the mind games of Hamlin, where the cars simply feel like his pawns.

Denny Hamlin’s impeccable race strategy gets revealed

During the latest episode of the Stacking Pennies podcast, Ryan Flores was discussing Hamlin and his presence on the grid as a driver who has been winning races for more than two decades. That is when Corey LaJoie popped in and started to reveal the way Hamlin thinks. During one of his rides with Hamlin in a guest appearance for HBO Max, LaJoie saw and experienced it firsthand. It has left him mesmerized and terrified of Hamlin’s mind since then.

“I rode along with him right on HBO Max. You know that guy Magnus Carlsen? Like, the best ever in chess history. That’s what I felt like riding along with Denny. He generates the run three corners before and makes people choose because they are in the mirror and trying to cover the run, and he just does the opposite.

“But it’s not like reactionary. He is forcing somebody in front of him to cover or go somewhere and I’m like, ‘Yeesh.'”

To earn himself a comparison with the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Hamlin must’ve made a real good impression on LaJoie. It is a very important tactic to use, especially while racing in NASCAR. LaJoie explains how Hamlin is able to use the opponents around him to generate a run while defending against them.

It gives Hamlin a significant edge in the final runs when everyone is desperately trying to get to the front. NASCAR is not as simple as it seems. The leading car gets overtaken as soon as the car behind it finds a better run. In those cases, there is no point in leading the race without a pitch-perfect strategy.

To keep yourself from losing positions, you have to plan it out early and understand how your opponents are trying to race. Hamlin does the same, but on a different level. He is able to play mind games with his opponents and use them to his advantage. Just like the host says, “That’s why he’s won 61 races.”

While Hamlin is accustomed to playing mind games on track, his team owner is doing it off track in the courts.

Joe Gibbs’ master plan to reel in Chris Gabehart

Nearly a month has passed since Gabehart and Joe Gibbs started seeing each other in court. At first, it all felt like overkill. Almost everyone was convinced that Gibbs is not going to win the case, as it is strong in favor of Gabehart. His declaration also made it seem like Gibbs was the one with issues in this case.

But there have been multiple turnarounds in the case since then. To the point that currently, it seems like Gibbs has finally caught Gabehart in a white lie and is ready to close in on him. Sure, there might be some morally gray practices, like spying on Gabehart. But ultimately, it did reveal some ugly truths.

Now, coach Joe Gibbs might come forward to claim that he doesn’t want to drag it out in court. He wants it to get over as soon as possible, but he won’t be a slouch. After finally getting the permission for expedited discovery in court, Coach Gibbs is already planning his next move.

This time, he is trying to get the court to believe that they need to issue subpoenas. These subpoenas include multiple conversations between employees of Spire, Trackhouse Racing, and Rick Ware Racing. And as if that’s not enough, Gibbs is certain that his proprietary team information is being passed around between these teams.