The roar begins to build at Bristol, with high stakes, tight turns, and a crowd bracing for another wild night race. Earlier this season at Bristol, Kyle Larson led 411 of 500 laps in the Food City 500, barely letting anyone else touch his tail as he pulled away by over two seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin. With recent stats showing only a handful of lead changes and fewer cautions, many drivers worry that the Next Gen car’s aero package, with its grip, downforce, and how it handles dirty air, is squeezing the action. So as Bristol approaches once again, the tension isn’t just about driver skill, but about whether the car itself will let the racing breathe. And that’s where Denny Hamlin’s voice cuts in sharpest.

Over the past months, Hamlin has repeatedly argued that the Next Gen car needs tweaks. “The field is just now running the same speed, and at a track where you have to have three to three and a half tenths of speed to overtake the car in front of you, that means that the first-place fastest car is going to struggle to pass the 25th if he just gets put behind him. That is the fundamental part that is going to be tough for us to overcome,” he said in August. Without changes to how cars generate downforce, Bristol’s close-quarters racing could fall flat. And that is exactly why Hamlin is ready to sacrifice his future for the entertainment of fans, who have complained of the same problem for ages.

Denny Hamlin pushes NASCAR toward change ahead of Bristol

In the NASCAR Live podcast, Denny Hamlin shared his perspective on the changes he feels are needed in the current cars to improve racing quality, even if it compromises his own wins. He argued that adapting to new variables makes the sport fairer, more exciting, and better for fans, even if it reduces his own advantage. In recent months, Hamlin has sounded less like a champion defending his plateau and more like a reformer trying to push NASCAR forward. He said, “It just shows that I’m fair. Just because we win doesn’t mean I want to keep it the same.”

This was in response to the interviewer, Steve Post, asking him, “You talk about the potential new diffuser here. You are an advocate of changing and fixing this race car… You said, we might get a new diffuser. You’ve been pounding this table about the diffuser, but then you, on the other side of your mouth, are saying, gosh, this might take the advantage and disadvantage away. How do you balance that?” Hamlin’s response reflects something you see repeatedly with him, where even at a point of dominance, he is willing to destabilize his own disadvantages if it serves the sport. His criticism of the Next Gen car, for instance, being “a fundamental car problem,” suggests that he believes the current vehicle package hurts more than it helps, despite having multiple wins this season.

But of course, Hamlin also recognizes that change can erase the edge he currently enjoys. He pointed out, “I’m all for more change. The more variables you can throw at the teams and the drivers, I think those are where your stars are going to show up, because they can adapt the quickest.” That is the tension Post outlines. The diffuser in the Next Gen car is one of the aerodynamic elements that, depending on design, can increase downforce, affect dirty air sensitivity, etc. Some drivers believe that the diffuser has made following cars harder, especially on short tracks, by making the airflow turbulent behind a car. But the balancing act that Hamlin talks about has been seen in past NASCAR Cup Series evolutions, where cars change, rules change, tracks change, and often teams that adapt fastest shine brightest.

His push for tweaks in the current structure shows that he wants variables in play, even if sometimes they reduce the cushion he currently has. He further added, “I’m wanting whatever puts on the best race for the fans, regardless of the results that I’ve had in the past.” This shows that he is thinking beyond his own legacy or current season ledger. He sees himself not just as a competitor, but as part of the entertainment product. He has compared recent fan perception of the Next Gen car to the backlash the Car of Tomorrow (COT) got, especially over its penalizing ability, heavy reliance on aero, etc. He is concerned that some fans feel the racing is stale, or that following and passing are too hard, or that the difference among teams is negligible because the car spec is dominating over driver skill, then the sport suffers.

Hamlin seems to adopt a kind of fairness over comfort stance. He might lose in the future if changes are made, but he believes it is worth losing to have a more vibrant, more respected sport in the long term.

Why Denny Hamlin refuses to celebrate too early

Toyota has stamped its authority early in the NASCAR playoffs, holding three of the top four spots with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe leading the charge. Rivals like Joey Logano have taken notice, with Jeff Gluck sharing his words, “The Toyotas are ridiculously fast,” Logano said, noting their grip and horsepower. He admitted Penske would need to be flawless, and “We need them to make mistakes” to have a shot.

Still, Hamlin avoided overconfidence when asked if the title could land with a Toyota. “I hope so. I remember showing up to the championship race in 2021, knowing we had no shot… Coy Gibbs told my mom, ‘I appreciate you coming, but we’re not going to win this race.’ Crushing her soul because she’s a very optimistic person.” Hamlin explained they “need everything to fall just right” despite their current speed.

At the same time, Hamlin acknowledged Penske‘s unpredictability, pointing to past examples. “You just never know, the Penske cars come out of nowhere the last few years, when you didn’t think they had the speed. They just showed up one week and Poof! They had it. So you just never know in the sport, it just ebbs and it flows, I can sympathize cause I’ve been there.” With Penske winning three of the last four titles, Hamlin knows dominance in September doesn’t always translate to championships in November.