“Before I Retire, I Wanna Do It”: Denny Hamlin Expresses Big Wish While Trashing NASCAR for Cup Product at Superspeedways

Unlike Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, who often gravitate toward dirt racing, or others exploring the Indy 500, Denny Hamlin has remained firmly rooted in NASCAR. His preference, especially for oval racing, has kept him within the stock car world. Yet he’s often the first to call out the sport when things go sideways.

His frustration with the Cup Series superspeedway races has grown, prompting him to critique the Next Gen product while praising the lower-tier Xfinity Series.

On his latest podcast episode, Hamlin applauded the Xfinity race at Talladega, contrasting it with the Cup Series, which he believes has become too reliant on fuel-saving.

He said, “I used to think there was no way I would sign up for Superspeedway racing, but I would love love love… Joe Gibbs Racing, if you’re hearing this, sign me up for an Xfinity superspeedway race.

“That is how racing used to be. That’s how good we used to have it. We just never knew it. Like these cars are moving around. You can create runs.”

Hamlin urged fans to compare the final two laps of the Xfinity and Cup races to see which offered better action. He highlighted the bubble effect in Xfinity cars, which allows drivers to race close without making contact, unlike the current Cup setup.

Determined, Hamlin said, “I want to do it before I retire. I want to do it, one more Xfinity race.”

His admiration for the lower series wasn’t just theoretical either. He greatly appreciated last Saturday’s Xfinity finish at Talladega, which saw chaos as Jesse Love made contact with race leader Connor Zilisch after the white flag.

Zilisch spun into the wall, triggering a caution just as the checkered flag flew. And then, in a three-wide photo finish, Austin Hill edged out Jeb Burton and teammate Jesse Love to take the win in the Ag-Pro 300 after NASCAR froze the field with an electronic timestamp.

Hamlin calls out NASCAR’s Next Gen flaws

While the Talladega Xfinity race raised the bar for NASCAR competition, the Cup Series event at Bristol fell flat. Kyle Larson led 411 of 500 laps with minimal passing, resulting in only four lead changes, showing the urgent need to revamp the Next Gen car.

On Actions Detrimental, Hamlin voiced his frustration with NASCAR’s inaction. Despite participating in multiple meetings, he said officials remain out of touch with the real issues. Listing one of the core problems, Hamlin said the platform setup is not up to the mark, where the rear of the car hugs the track while the front sits high to feed air to the underbody.

The result? There’s no front downforce when tucked behind another car, making overtaking nearly impossible.

Denny Hamlin contrasted this with the Xfinity Series, where the cars generate downforce from the top, allowing trailing drivers to disrupt leaders by stealing rear grip. In the Cup Series, the underbody-dependent downforce nullifies such tactics, leaving the racing processional.

He added that low horsepower and the current tire package only worsen the problem, making it difficult for drivers to race effectively in traffic.