“These Cars are out of control!” Denny Hamlin Gives NASCAR Drivers A Big Warning Over Darlington Weekend

Denny Hamlin has issued a massive warning against the poor control of modern challengers at the Darlington race.

“These Cars are out of control!” Denny Hamlin Gives NASCAR Drivers A Big Warning Over Darlington Weekend

Denny Hamlin (via Imago)

In Short
  • Denny Hamlin warns NASCAR drivers of potential chaos at the Goodyear 400 due to car control issues.
  • He predicts significant tire wear and over four seconds of pace fall-off during the race.
  • Drivers who accurately adjust their tire and aero setups may have an advantage in the unpredictable race conditions.

The 2026 season of NASCAR began a couple of weeks ago and it has been far from normal. The first three races were won by Tyler Reddick, who created history after winning three races at the beginning of a season. Then, Ryan Blaney took the chequered flag in Phoenix. Now, Denny Hamlin issues a warning to the teams and drivers ahead of the Goodyear 400 in Darlington.

All the races since the beginning of the 2026 season have witnessed multiple wrecks over the sessions. Now, with uncertain tire wear and other car issues might lead to the upcoming Goodyear 400 race being a trainwreck. Denny Hamlin is wary of the problems and has warned the drivers and teams of the impending problems at the upcoming Darlington race on 22nd March.

Denny Hamlin predicted that there will be a lot of cars out of control on the Darlington track. He explained that it was because of the little to no underbody on the modern challengers, especially on a short track like that of the Goodyear 400. Hamlin reiterated that the cars would likely have little to no control and cause chaos throughout the race.

Further, Denny Hamlin predicted that there could be over four seconds of fall off from expected pace. The JGR veteran noted that with elemental changes to the car, the cars would go out of control and make the race potentially interesting. As such, Hamlin expects a wild card race in Darlington, as the grid prepares for the upcoming challenge.

One thing I will tell you is that heads up on Darlington. You want to see some cars out of control. Here in a few weeks, these cars with essentially little to no underbody, because we’re now going to the short track aerodynamic package for Darlington. These cars are out of control. And so we are going to be I’m predicting four seconds of fall off. It might be more. It’s just the cars, with the underbody taken off and that simple diffuser, even on new tires, just absolutely out of control. So it’s going to be a wild card race.

Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

Denny Hamlin reveals who might benefit from the package at Darlington

Certainly, the deciding factor for who dominates in the race would be towards the driver and crew that nails the package. Not a majority of the teams might be able to come up with a competitive car on Sunday. As such, Denny Hamlin opens up on who might benefit from the updates that will be introduced to the challenger on the short-oval circuit.

Denny Hamlin (via Imagn)
Denny Hamlin (via Imagn)

Denny Hamlin highlighted that whoever guessed the estimates and package setup will benefit in the race. This meant that it wasn’t given that the driver who dominated early on in the season might come up with promising results in the race. Hamlin continued that whoever guessed the tire and aero setups correctly would ultimately dominate the race. Hence, the race could be won by the driver who lucked out and chose a specific package for the race.

Who does that benefit? The guys? Whoever guesses right. Whoever guesses the tire and the arrow and the setup right.

Denny Hamlin noted.

The 2026 season has been exciting so far. The teams and drivers are giving it their all to remain competitive on track. Ryan Blaney finally broke Tyler Reddick’s winning streak and is now looking forward to the upcoming race. For now, all eyes will be set on the Darlington race as many drivers fear poor performance over the weekend.

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