Denny Hamlin reacts to how Next Gen cars handled the New Hampshire Motor Speedway track
Denny Hamlin took to his “Actions Detrimental” podcast Tuesday to sum up how NASCAR’s Next Gen car handled the Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Monday.
Hamlin, who raced his way to a P7 finish, said that while his car was sideways for much of the beginning portion of the race, it got better as the race went on.
“I was thinking when we went there that oh, man. Goodyear said they brought a tire that’s got more grip,” Hamlin said. “So we’re going to be faster on the short run. We’re going to be slower on the long run. And it was like oh, man, I can’t touch the gas from Lap 1. Like it’s just sideways and really, the more laps I ran, the better it got.”
Hamlin’s consistent 2023 campaign continued Monday, and saw him catapult to fourth in the points standings with six races remaining before the Cup Series playoffs begin in September.
Martin Truex Jr. claims 3rd victory of NASCAR Cup Series season at New Hampshire
It was, however, Martin Truex Jr. who conquered the 1.058-mile oval in Loudon. After his third victory of the season, Truex Jr. sits atop the Cup Series points standings, primed to make a run for a second championship. Truex Jr. won in dominating fashion, leading 254-of-301 laps, including 163 of the opening 185 laps.
“What we’ve been able to do here over the years was pretty remarkable, and to not win was really getting frustrating,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “[Crew chief] James [Small] and I have talked about it many times and talked with [teammate] Christopher [Bell] before the race, and he said, ‘You’ve led more laps here than I’ve even run here in the Cup Series.’
“Just really awesome job by everybody. What a race car we had here today. Just proud of the whole team. Pit stops were flawless. The car was unbelievable. We had some challenges throughout the race, and the car was a handful at times, but we put our heads down and just kept digging.”
The 43-year-old, 2017 Cup Series champion fueled retirement speculation when asked if he was considering calling it quits after the 2023 season.
“I just don’t really know. I don’t really know. I’m bad at making big decisions,” Truex Jr. said. “I told somebody out there, I was like, I’ve been looking at salt water boats for five, six years. Love to fish. Spend a lot of time on the water… I haven’t pulled the trigger on a boat because I just can’t make up my mind on what I want. I’m just bad at big decisions. I finally am about to buy one maybe this week. I wish I had more time to figure out what I want to do next year, but I don’t, so I’ll know soon and you’ll know soon.”