No track on the NASCAR calendar requires as much teamwork as superspeedways. At Talladega on Sunday, Joe Gibbs Racing was faced with a choice: to have one car on the lead lap or multiple. And much to the disapproval of Denny Hamlin, the team chose the former option. Following the race, the JGR veteran opened up on his thoughts, given that he was one of the drivers who wasn’t helped by his teammate, Christopher Bell.

At one point during the race at Talladega, Hamlin was penalized for a pit road incident. The same happened to Chase Briscoe, because of which both JGR drivers found themselves trying to get back on the lead lap. The key for that to happen was in the hands of their teammate Christopher Bell, who made a call that didn’t help his teammates’ cause. This was something Hamlin deemed ‘a lack of communication that created a lack of awareness.’

“That’s up to someone in a higher position to make everyone aware of what’s going on. ‘Hey, the #11 is staying here, hoping to get the wave around. Make sure none of our cars are the ones that stay.’ You’ve got to come over to the command center and say that,” he explained on Actions Detrimental.

Hamlin claimed that a driver hopes to have ‘enough deposits’ with their teammates in a season so that when the right time comes, they get one back.

“That’s why it says on the wall, ‘One Team’ at JGR. That was an easy one to let us back on the lead lap. I mean, if you’re gonna let anyone back on the lead lap, you let your teammate back because at the end of the race, guess what? Guess who you need is people pushing you. Teammates,” he claimed.

Hamlin argued that while the No. 20 would have stayed out to protect track position, he was already in the top five. This left the No. 11 driver confused by Bell’s decision to stay out, because it meant the other three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers had to fight each other to get back on the lead lap, whereas the No. 20 had the opportunity to get one of the three lapped cars back on the lead lap “for free.”

The 45-year-old believed this would’ve allowed the other two to battle back to get on the lead lap, and by the next caution, there could’ve been three cars on the lead lap. Having said that, he added he cannot be ‘too critical’ of Christopher Bell’s team for not caring about what Hamlin’s team is doing, because that responsibility falls on someone from JGR leadership.

However, at Talladega, Denny Hamlin could’ve seen a repeat of his best result this season had JGR leadership allowed Bell to help the #11.

Denny Hamlin was in a similar position at Las Vegas as at Talladega, but with different outcomes

Earlier this season at Las Vegas, Denny Hamlin found himself in a similar position as at Talladega. He was sent to the back of the field after a speeding incident on pit road, along with his teammate Ty Gibbs.

But until a late caution on lap 211, Denny Hamlin cycled up to the front. In the final 82 laps, he rallied back to the front of the field, setting up a showdown with Christopher Bell after the caution on lap 211.

Following the restart, Hamlin and Bell raced side by side for a couple of laps until the #11 driver passed Bell and held on to the lead against the advances of Chase Elliott to clinch the 61st Cup win of his career.

However, the story was different at Talladega. Unlike a track like Vegas, at Talladega, a driver needs any help they can get from their teammate to make it to the front of the field. But Hamlin didn’t have that on Sunday, because of which he finished in 15th place.

This is because a key factor in the lack of passing in superspeedway racing is the Next Gen car itself, due to its high-drag nature. Therefore, teamwork becomes an even bigger factor for teams to ensure all of their cars finish in good positions.