“We Need a Conspiracy!” Denny Hamlin Reveals the Only Way He Could Beat Shane van Gisbergen

Denny Hamlin shares a hilarious idea on how to defeat Shane van Gisbergen on road course circuit amidst his dominance.

“We Need a Conspiracy!” Denny Hamlin Reveals the Only Way He Could Beat Shane van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen and Denny Hamlin (via Getty)

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Shane van Gisbergen has emerged as one of the best drivers on the road course circuit on the NASCAR grid. Gisbergen has achieved four impressive race wins, all of which have come on the narrow street circuits. The Trackhouse veteran’s most recent win came at Watkins Glen, as he achieved praise from all over the grid. Now, Denny Hamlin has hilariously revealed how he would ever beat the 36-year-old on a road course circuit.

Shane van Gisbergen has put forth an extremely flawless performance on the street course circuit and left no stones unturned to showcase his dominance on such tracks. Many drivers are now dumbfounded about how to beat Gisbergen on a road course circuit, as he isn’t going to lose with his current form. Even veterans like Denny Hamlin are unable to figure out ways to outclass the Aussie.

As such, Denny Hamlin had a hilarious idea on how to beat Shane van Gisbergen on a road course circuit. Hamlin reckoned that there were bound to be a few races where Gisbergen would get taken out by other drivers. The 44-year-old recalled that the Aussie was taken out during the 2024 Grant Park 165 in Chicago and couldn’t win.

There’s going to be a race that something happens that’s gonna take him out. Like, he got taken out of Chicago. Remember, in the wet somebody made a mistake.

Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

Denny Hamlin asserted that Shane van Gisbergen had to be vulnerable to other people making mistakes on track and catching him in the crossfire. Gisbergen wouldn’t be able to remain spotless on the narrow lanes of the road course circuit all the time.

Hamlin speculated that multiple drivers might crash into Turn 1 and clip into the 36-year-old’s car, rendering the latter unable to race. As such, the 44-year-old joked that there needed to be conspiracies in a race in order to beat the Aussie on a street course race.

Like, he definitely is able to be vulnerable to someone else making a mistake. He’s not going to make it on his own. It’s going to be into Turn 1. Somebody ping-pongs into someone else, and it knocks him into Shane after he just pitted. Like, that’s what we need. We need a conspiracy.

Denny Hamlin added.

Denny Hamlin reveals the tracks that fans and drivers ‘do not want anymore’

NASCAR has brought in major changes to the calendar and the racing venues in the past decade or so. Multiple iconic tracks have stayed, while other tracks have continued to shuffle or get completely cut off. As such, to keep things interesting, the sport introduced a mix of road course and track-style circuit, and named it Roval. While the track seemed interesting, it was full of chaos at times, and Denny Hamlin wasn’t really a fan of this.

Denny Hamlin (via Getty)
Denny Hamlin (via IMAGO)

Denny Hamlin explained that the Roval was introduced because racing on the oval had become dull. While the change was made years ago, interest in the mixed-circuit format has since faded. Hamlin said that neither fans nor drivers want the race anymore, yet SMI (Speedway Motorsports Inc.) and its president, Marcus Smith, remain determined to keep it on the schedule. Regardless of what the people wanted, the race at the Roval would continue.

It was created because the racing on the oval wasn’t very good, but that’s been, you know, eight-ten years ago. I am absolutely certain that SMI and Marcus Smith are keeping the rope just to chap us. The fans don’t want it anymore. The drivers don’t want it, but I think they’re just like somebody else that I know that’s willing to die on the hill.

Denny Hamlin noted

The 2025 season of NASCAR has been extremely interesting, more so the road course circuits, as people are now witnessing Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance. The 36-year-old has already locked his spot in the playoffs and would have to work hard on his performance on the oval circuits. Time will tell if Gisbergen manages to keep his problems on the short-ovals at bay and become a favorite to win his maiden Cup Series championship.

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