Denny Hamlin recently suggested a replacement for Phoenix Raceway as the venue for the championship race. Passing at that track has been a menace over the last few years with the Next Gen car coming into the picture. The #11 driver said that Kansas Speedway would be a better option and teammate Christopher Bell agreed. The only condition, as per the #20 driver, was that the weather had to permit the race to take place at that time of the year.
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The Joe Gibbs Racing star suggested several other tracks as well – Las Vegas, Charlotte and Homestead-Miami. Homestead was the championship venue before Phoenix and Bell believes Vegas and Charlotte are NASCAR’s best tracks right now along with Kansas Speedway. The Next Gen car might not be very entertaining to watch on short tracks but racing on intermediate tracks has certainly improved a lot.
“I think it would be a great place to hold a championship. I think that was a question at media day of which track should get the championship event and I said Vegas, but Kansas certainly could be an amazing championship race venue if weather is not an issue. The Next Gen car has just raced so well on the multi-lane intermediate race tracks,” he said in a media interaction.
The JGR star qualified in pole position for Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway but was not able to convert it into a win. A P7 finish was decent and turned up to be a good point-scoring day for the #20 team. They made it to the championship race for the last two seasons and Bell is looking to make it a hat trick with this one.
Why does Denny Hamlin endorse Kansas as a finale venue?
The Kansas track has received a lot of praise from multiple drivers over the quality of racing. The wide straights and narrow corners make it tough to navigate and the grip being at the top of the track poses a stern challenge to drivers. Fluke winners are hard to find here and that perhaps makes it a perfect candidate to host a finale. At least that’s what Hamlin believes.
“Yeah, it certainly does from a driver’s standpoint. From a competition standpoint, it seems like it puts on some of the best racing that we have. Even though mile and a halves generally have gotten really good over the Next Gen era, this track, in particular, stands out amongst them,” he mentioned.
However, it is unlikely that a change will come anytime soon. NASCAR seems to be happy with Phoenix Raceway for now. The Next Gen car faces several issues, especially with passing. If those do not die down, the organizers might have no choice but to change the finale venue.
