One of the worst coaching decisions, as per many experts and fans, came to the surface in the recent Miami Hurricanes-Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets game. And it was so disastrous that its echoes were felt far beyond college football and into the realm of stock car racing. After the recent NASCAR Cup race at the ROVAL, Denny Hamlin referenced the Miami blunder to describe his own day.
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Hamlin, a veteran of the sport, had ensured his place in the next round of the playoffs thanks to his solid display in the first two stages of the race. However, a costly error in the third stage meant his #11 racecar suffered enough damage that his race ended prematurely.
And when reflecting on what happened after he got out of the car, Hamlin made the Hurricanes reference.
Denny Hamlin makes a Miami Hurricanes reference in describing his day at ROVAL
During a post-race interview, Denny Hamlin opened up on whether he wanted to go all the way for the win despite securing his place in the next round with solid points in stages 1 and 2. He said, “I wanted to keep flipping stages but can’t be the Miami Hurricanes. You can’t run the ball when you’re supposed to kneel it.”
“I think we did the best we could and lock ourselves in early. But then it just puts you in the back and that’s about it. Once you get to the back, that’s about it. We tried our best but obviously just made a mistake there and got hit.”
Despite the setback, Hamlin claimed he was trying to finish the best he possibly could, but there’s only so much he could’ve done from the back, especially considering how he hasn’t “mastered how to get through traffic on road courses quite yet.”
In the end, Hamlin was bothered by the fact that they didn’t get a good finish. He knew they were advancing in the playoffs anyway considering they were +50, and it would’ve taken “apocalyptic situations to not make it.”
Hamlin is feeling optimistic for the Round of 8
Heading into the final round of the playoffs before the championship race in Phoenix, Hamlin is feeling more than optimistic about his chances. The three races before THE race will take place in Las Vegas, Miami, and Martinsville. And the #11 driver feels good enough for all of them.
“We’re certainly good enough and all the tracks are good for us. We’ve already shifted our focus towards that and this is a kind of a get through it this week type of scenario. So I feel very optimistic to go to next week and contend,” he described.
So now, it’ll be interesting to see if Hamlin makes the cut to Phoenix in the coming weeks. Because last year too, he had a pretty decent Round of 8, but he came undone by that one moment of brilliance from Ross Chastain in Martinsville.
