Denny Hamlin makes feelings known on pit crew 'slump,' confident 'it's not due to talent' ahead of Homestead playoff
Denny Hamlin recently addressed the pitstop nightmares that have pushed him into a tricky spot ahead of the second Round of 8 race. However, the 43-year-old believes the #11 Toyota team is the best group they can put on the pit road.
Hamlin remains a top contender for the 2024 Cup Series championship title as he prepares for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He needs to accumulate enough points or secure a win to qualify for the Championship 4. While the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has achieved three wins and 10 top-five finishes, his team has faced challenges with pit stop performance.
In a recent media availability, the #11 JGR driver shared his thoughts on his pit crew. He said:
"Yeah, you ride with the group you got I think that they're certainly, they're in a slump for sure, but we got to ride it out and feel like that's the best group that we can put on pit road. And certainly it's not due to talent or anything like that. They've got all the keys that they need for that. They were the best to crew for the first quarter this year. But certainly it's just been a lot of different issues on pit road, you know, pretty much most times we come down. It's been different things. So you can't really pinpoint one, you know, kind of consistent problem that we've had. So you just got to see where it goes."
The 54-time Cup race winner Hamlin suffered a setback in Stage 1 of the South Point 400 when he lost track position during a green-flag pit stop. As a result, he went from inside the top five to outside the top 10.
Hamlin then faced another setback after Stage 2, as he had to reverse his car to tighten the left rear tire.
"I was behind the call that we made" - Denny Hamlin reflects on his Las Vegas struggle
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin finished in the top 10 with an eighth-place finish at the first Round of 8 race in Las Vegas. After overcoming several setbacks, the #11 team eventually managed a respectable result in the playoff race.
In a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, the Florida native touched upon the "crucial" moment that kept him on the lead lap despite the pit road struggles. He said:
"We’re on our heels from that point on. From then to the end of stage two, we were just struggling. Luckily, we were able to fight and stay on the lead lap there when we had those old tires… that was a crucial moment for us to just keep fighting and stay on the lead lap, and that allowed us to grind away this type of finish."
Furthermore, Hamlin spoke about the strategic calls made during the Las Vegas race. He added:
"But you know, it just didn’t work out. I was behind the calls that we made. I just thought that they just didn’t work out. I didn’t think that there was anything alarming on my end that thought was wrong." [0:52]
Hamlin is now left with two races to make it to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix, one at Homestead-Miami this Sunday and the other at Martinsville Speedway on November 3.