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Frustrated Denny Hamlin Makes an 8-Word Plea to NASCAR After Being Outperformed by JGR Teammate in Martinsville

Published 04/18/2023, 10:49 AM EDT

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This past Sunday, NASCAR was at the Martinsville Speedway for its Cup Series race. It was not exactly a great day in the office for Denny Hamlin, who finished fourth in the race. He was behind race winner Kyle Larson, defending champion Joey Logano, and his own teammate, Martin Truex Jr.

Unfortunately, Hamlin was not too happy with the short-track package that was implemented at the Martinsville Speedway.

Denny Hamlin makes a request to NASCAR

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In the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin mentioned, “Is it worth it, to try and get a million dollars less engine bill? Are you willing to give up, what we’re giving up for our on-track product? I just don’t think that it’s worth it.”

via Imago

“The engine bills have not gone down, since we were running 900 horsepower, it was the same. I don’t know where we’re going, and I know I’ve talked about this before. But I really, really, really, really am pleading with NASCAR, who I guarantee you, is listening to this. 

You got to give us some horsepower back.”

“Our RPM, or something, to create the passing that we need to.”

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Was Denny Hamlin justified in his criticisms?

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Hamlin’s main gripe was that overtaking was so difficult. According to him, it had reached a point where the race could only be won through a strategy battle in the pit lane. Apparently, Larson, Logano, and Truex Jr spent much of the race battling in the midfield. They only catapulted up the order after staying out during late cautions and being able to defend with fresher tires.

USA Today via Reuters

For his part, Larson took over the lead from Logano with 29 laps remaining. From there, he managed to win the race with a four-second margin over the Team Penske driver. This new package, which Hamlin seems to dislike, has 30% less downforce, at short tracks and road courses. As a result, the cars were a lot more difficult to drive. Admittedly, this was not very evident at Martinsville, but even Logano noted that overtaking was a huge challenge.

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WATCH THIS STORY: “No Clue How That Is a Penalty” – Kyle Busch Exposes NASCAR’s “Contradictory” Side After Being Left in Disbelief of Denny Hamlin’s Controversial Verdict

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a Senior Motorsports Writer at EssentiallySports, with an impressive track record of over 13K articles. He not only writes engaging content but regularly connects readers with some of the biggest racing names thanks to his ability to churn out exclusive interviews. From F1 driver Pierre Gasly to Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino, Dhruv has established himself as an authoritative voice in the world of motorsports.
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Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh