If you thought the Denny Hamlin-SMI saga had reached its end, you’re sorely mistaken! As Texas Motor Speedway‘s reputation preceded itself with a whopping 16 cautions, even spinning Hamlin, it seems the JGR driver isn’t going to mince his words anymore. It all started with the unforgiving Turn 4 that alone saw Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Jimmie Johnson, Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, and Denny Hamlin’s run reach an immature end. 

But, what’s more surprising was the #11 driver’s post-race reaction, where he blamed himself for his spin and even announced that the track had nothing to do with it. However, all of that’s in the past, as the outspoken driver once again heavily criticized the track’s condition.

Denny Hamlin roots out deep Texas issues

To say last weekend’s race was wild would be an understatement. With 23 lead changes and two overtimes, the racing was anything but smooth. While the on-track action made things entertaining for racing fans, that was hardly the sentiment among the drivers. While many acknowledged the “treacherous” nature of the track, Denny Hamlin took it a step further on the recent episode of his ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast. First, the racer delved into all that went wrong in Sunday’s race. 

“The track was more treacherous, I thought, at the beginning of the race than it was toward the end…in the beginning, we were all running single-file, in the bottom. And if you ran up just a little bit, your car would take off. It definitely was difficult to pass…It was hard to pass because of the stuff on the surface of the track.”

Then Hamlin squared the blame on the PJ1 compound. “If we didn’t have that PJ1 or resin or whatever, I think there would be potential for Texas to be okay.” Further diving into the track’s history a little, the racer shared, “When they were building the banking and all that, they had tunnels that can cut underneath…So over time, the soil settles underneath the pavement, and that’s when these huge bumps swell. The reason we don’t run up the track at Texas as much is ’cause there’s a giant, giant bump.”

However, soon after, Hamlin directed a string of criticism at the track owners. “Surely there must be some other chemical out there…even if it stains the track, who cares? The track looks like cr*p anyway when it comes to the surface. It’s patched up, beat up, peeling all over the place. Why not find something that would eat away that old PJ1, because it’s pinned us down to the bottom,” he said.

However, that was not all, as Denny Hamlin also connected the Next Gen car’s difficulties with the Texas track and dissected how the two don’t sit well together. 

The Next Gen does not run well on single-lane tracks

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Ever since the Next Gen car came out in 2022, it produced immense changes in NASCAR racing. As Jimmie Johnson pointed out, it’s difficult to slip and slide it around off the right rear. Just as passing is difficult at Indianapolis Motor Speedway due to the single lane and four corners, drivers at the Texas track faced similar issues. And it wasn’t long before Denny Hamlin pointed out the same on his podcast.

“We’ve said a million times this Next Gen car does not run well on single-lane tracks. It needs two and three lanes to run well, which is why we’re so good on mile-and-a-halfs. Short tracks suck because most of them are single-lane. Mile-and-a-halfs are good because we can get away from each other…But Texas is a huge mile-and-a-half with a very narrow racing surface, with the stuff that’s been put on and the big bumps on turns 3 and 4.”

Well, Denny Hamlin surely has some strong opinions when it comes to the venue. Now whether NASCAR and SMI will pay heed to these opinions remain to be seen. Having said that, do you think the Texas Motor Speedway needs to make changes to better suit driver’s demands? Let us know in the comments below!