“So Much Drag!” Denny Hamlin Slams Next-Gen Cars After Kyle Larson’s Talladega Triumph

The NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Talladega featured some a wild moment and saw Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson pulling of an impressive last lap run to secure the race win. One of his main rivals, Denny Hamlin on the other hand had another disappointing day, as he was able to secure just a P8 finish.

On his post-race interview, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran shed light to one key weakness of the Next-Gen car that ruined the overall race entertainment for the fans as well as the racers. He highlighted how the current flawed design of the car is producing too much drag.

This makes racing more about who can conserve the most fuel, instead of being the fastest car on the day and that one key reason behind the Superspeedway races becoming more chaotic than ever. NASCAR changed the spoiler to solve the issue, but it unfortunately didn’t make a change in the positive direction.

Unfortunately for us, they designed a car that just has so much drag in it. The racing was definitely different, handling played a factor, but it’s not like it used to be. You can’t take any more spoiler off this thing. It’s a sports car not meant to be running 200mph.

Denny Hamlin said post-race.

Later in the same conversation, Denny Hamlin talked about his day and highlighted the mixed feelings. The No:11 Toyota driver would have been happy with a P8 finish, if his main championship rival Kyle Larson didn’t win the race. Him winning the race and multiple title contenders losing their shot, made the weekend an overall disappointment.

I mean, if you asked me to start the day would I take an eighth, I mean, probably. I guess so. But obviously, the 5’s [Larson] on a massive run at the right time of the year. And so, it’s just — that’s what we got. It’s disappointing, but also like our day could have been a shit ton worse. We didn’t get stage points. We tried, but it’s just lots of games going on. It’s really, really tough to do it.

Denny Hamlin added, as reported by motorsport.com.

Denny Hamlin gives verdict on his championship hopes

Before the race, Hamlin was over 30 points behind Larson in the table at P4. Now he climbed up to P2, but there nothing to celebrate about it as the No:5 team is now 73 points ahead of him in the championship table.

There are just two more races left in the 2026 season, Martinsville and Homestead Miami. Both of those tracks have seen the No:5 team producing some impressive runs in the next-Gen era giving him a solid advantage over others.

If not for a DNF and a No:11 or No: 19 team wins, the Hendrick Motorsports driver would secure the title next week. He will become the only races since Jimmie Johnosn in the early 2000s to win back-to-back championship in the premier division. Hamlin still feels he has a realistic shot at the trophy.

I don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. t’s not over, but it will take a huge race weekend at Martinsville for him to remain in realistic contention.

Denny Hamlin said.

The JGR veteran doesn’t have momentum on his side and it seems his two-decade log wait for a maiden Cup title will continue. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the star driver in the upcoming weeks.

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