‘It’s going to be a challenge,’ Denny Hamlin on the Inaugural Cup Race at the Gateway
Follow Us
Denny Hamlin celebrating the Coca-Cola 600 victory
NASCAR will hit the World-Wide Technology Raceway this weekend for the 15th round of cup Racing in the inaugural Cup race at the Illinois track which also marks the Next-Gen car’s debut on the track. The 1.5-mile oval is expected to produce top-class racing as the drivers will be going hard at each other owing to the fact the playoff spots are slowly but surely getting secured by the drivers, but it’s just a win that stands between them from securing a playoff.
Going into Gateway the Coco-Cola 600 champion Denny Hamlin alongside his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch will be the main drivers to watch out for as the Toyota has shown immense pace and control when it comes to racing in short or intermediate tracks. Hendrick Motorsports drivers reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson and youngster William Byron will also be going for the win at Illinois hoping to turn their recent bad patch of runs around.
Denny Hamlin will surely be the clear favorite after the Coco-Cola 600 win, which marked his 48th career win and second win of the 2022 season. The veteran who struggled at the beginning of the season to get an idea of how the Next-Gen cars can be driven efficiently now seems to be an expert on it and he is also putting in immense work for his owned 23X1 Racing team which has been very inconsistent this season.
Now Denny Hamlin has come forth expressing his opinion on how he expects the coming WWTR Cup Race to play out and what are his hopes for the race.
Find out What Denny Hamlin said
Denny Hamlin acknowledged that the WWTR cup race is going to be a challenge and pointed out that track position will be vital due to how the Next-Gen cars race on flatter tracks. He went on to say a lot of shifting will take place at the race which will make passing very difficult. Denny Hamlin went on to comment on the off-track stuff associated with the inaugural race as it opens up a whole new set of fans and a new market for NASCAR, which he finds exciting.
“It’s going to be a challenge. I think track position is going to be very important just based on how this car races on flatter tracks. We’ll be shifting quite a bit, so that could make passing pretty difficult. But besides the on-track stuff, I’m excited to be going to a new market for the series and getting to race in front of fans who may not have seen us race before,” Denny Hamlin said.
Denny Hamlin’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. agrees with him on the track making it hard to pass
Martin Truex Jr. acknowledged that he feels it that is going to be hard to make passes at the Gateway as the drivers will have their hands full on shifting at both ends of the track. He went on to say that qualifying and executing on pit road are going to be very important to keep track of position through out the race so its important that all the teams are at their A game in the race.
“I feel like it’s going to be pretty hard to pass. I expect to be shifting at both ends of every lap, so we’re going to have our hands full. Qualifying and executing on pit road are going to be very important to keep track of position throughout the race, so we’re going to be on our game all weekend,” Martin Truex Jr. said.
Stay Updated!
Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)