Skip to main content
Join Now
NASCAR Logo

Denny Hamlin breaks down impact of strategy at Indianapolis, questions 'balls' of non-Penske cars

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones07/29/25brianjones_93

Denny Hamlin understood that having a strong strategy at the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the key to success. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin talked about the impact of strategy at Indianapolis.

“I have my small group of people that I’m thinking, ‘Okay, these are my challengers for the weekend,” Denny Hamlin said. “A lot of things can happen at Indy where the strategy can get mixed up, and it flips the field. But we never really had that. …There was no real strategy to flip things upside down.

“The wildest strategy call really was Penske cars when they stayed out on the first caution. They knew they couldn’t make it on fuel. They didn’t care because they were going to go ahead and flip it at the end of the stage anyway to be up front.”

Denny Hamlin loved Team Penske’s strategy at Indy

Hamlin was then asked why more teams don’t do what the Penske cars did at the Brickyard 400. “It’s amazing to me when I saw this, and I’m at the time in the mid-20s, I see the three Penske cars,” Hamlin said. “I’m like, ‘Are they the only ones with balls to do this?’ What is the big deal? Everyone’s like, ‘Alright, we’re pitting now because it can take us to the end of the stage.’ Well then, why wouldn’t you stay out? You’re going to be a handful of laps short to make it to the end of the stage. That’s just like flipping it.” Hamlin went on to say that the Penske cars tend to stay out or take less tires than everyone else.

It seems like the strategy works for Penske as two of their drivers – Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano – have won the last three NASCAR Cup Series Championships. Logano won it in 2022 and 2024, and Blaney won it in 2023.

Hamlin’s strategy at Indy didn’t lead to a win, but he ended the day with a P3 finish. That is a strong showing considering he started in last place (39th) and was in a backup car. Hamlin still left Indy as a winner as Bubba Wallace won the race, and he drives for 23XI Racing, a team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan.