Denny Hamlin Declares There Was “Little Too Much” Tire Wear During Bristol Night Race

Denny Hamlin lambasted the out of control tire wear at the Bristol Race as NASCAR introduced a new tire compound for the race.

Denny Hamlin Declares There Was “Little Too Much” Tire Wear During Bristol Night Race

Denny Hamlin (Via IMAGO)

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Denny Hamlin is all the buzz in NASCAR right now as he emerges as one of the winningest drivers on the grid this season. Hamlin already won the Gateway Cup Race last weekend and was hopeful of positive results at Bristol as well. However, the tire-demanding race around the Bristol Speedway turned out to be challenging for the JGR veteran as he was unable to achieve any notable results.

Denny Hamlin started the Bristol weekend on a high and achieved a P6 start for the main event. The 44-year-old has been excellent in terms of performance at Bristol in the past, achieving four victories at the circuit. Hence, the playoff race was supposed to be positive for Hamlin as well, and he would’ve built on his point cushion in the playoffs.

However, the Bristol Speedway, which is already notorious for tire wear, saw Denny Hamlin struggle with the same. A major issue with his wheel coming off the chassis caused him to lose a lot of positions in the pecking order. Ultimately, the 44-year-old finished in P31, much farther from where he began the race. As such, the 44-year-old then pointed out the difficulties he faced in the race.

Speaking on a disappointing outing at Bristol, Denny Hamlin was not mincing his words while berating the track conditions. The JGR Veteran insisted that he suffered from a little too much tire wear in the #11 chassis.

Hamlin pointed out that he wanted the tires to wear out, and they did, but it was more than expected. The 44-year-old sarcastically highlighted that he was glad the sport found ways to make the tires wear out more than expected at Bristol and called NASCAR to add them to other races as well.

Maybe it’s a little too much. You want it to wear out, and it did, I’m very grateful that they found what to put in a tire to wear it out, now put that at many other racetracks if you could, if you don’t mind.

Denny Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast

Denny Hamlin claims NASCAR ‘delivered’ on what drivers wanted

NASCAR brought a revised tire compound for the Bristol race, which caused unpredictable tire wear for the teams and drivers. But still, Denny Hamlin berated the disparity in tire wear in races, as the left side wore out faster and heavier than the right side. As such, the 44-year-old was still delighted with NASCAR delivering its promises of bringing a different tire compound for the Bristol race.

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Via @JoeGibbsRacing/X)

Denny Hamlin highlighted the huge disparity in tire wear, as it was all right side and nothing on the left of the car. By bringing the new compound, Hamlin noted that the drivers were not just relying on the right sides to carry the car around the corner.

Now, with the new compounds and transferring the grip to the left side, the 44-year-old believed that it would be a good change. Regardless, the sport delivered on what the drivers wanted, which was more tire wear and better grip.

There’s such disparity with our tires to where if they do wear, it’s all right-side and there’s nothing on the lefts. You’re not just relying on the right sides alone to carry the car around the corner. So, just transferring some of that grip or load into the left sides I think would be a good change. But overall, they delivered on what we wanted, which is more tire wear.

Denny Hamlin noted

The 2025 season has been one of the better ones for Denny Hamlin as he looks like one of the favorites to win the Cup Series championship. Despite a P31 finish at Bristol, Hamlin is still leading the standings and has a massive point advantage going into the next race. Now, time will tell about how the championship ambitions turn out for the 44-year-old in NASCAR.

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