There are a few boxes that a NASCAR driver needs to check to compete for the Championship trophy and Denny Hamlin has checked the first one, which is winning a regular season points race and earning a spot in the playoffs. However, Sunday’s Food City 500 was anything but normal and that’s because of how tire issues hunted down almost everyone on the field. Nevertheless, Hamlin pointed out how he was able to bag the win despite the hurdles.
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Today, the drivers rely on simply staying on the gas and cruising around the ovals. However, there was a time when the drivers had to manage tires, the lap time, and the line they ran on, to win a race. The 500-mile race at Bristol Motor Speedway reminded Hamlin of those good old times and he loved every second of it.
“Such a different race,” Hamlin told SiriusXM NASCAR radio after picking up his 52nd career victory and fourth at the half-mile racetrack. “We haven’t seen something like this in quite some time, but it really put the driver back into play here. The way you had to it was just different. This was like old-school type racing. This is essentially what I grew up doing for 20 years before I actually made it to NASCAR.”
🏁 "We haven't seen something like this in quite some time, but it really put the driver back into play here."@dennyhamlin reflects on the unique nature of today's 500 lap affair at @ItsBristolBaby and his first win of 2024 for @JoeGibbsRacing.
LIVE → https://t.co/5jokqJ22GL pic.twitter.com/BdR9GZwhni
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) March 18, 2024
Food City 500: A battle between teammates
Sunday’s race was special for more than one reason. Firstly, only five cars finished on the lead lap for the first time in 20 years. And secondly, there were 54 lead changes, which is now a record at NASCAR’s short tracks. In the chase for the lead, two of the most capable racecar drivers in the arena of NASCAR battled it out the hardest.
Hamlin lost the lead to Truex briefly on lap 483 before he snatched it back and held off the 2017 Cup Series champion by a narrow margin of 1.083 seconds. The victory wasn’t as easy as it looked.
“Obviously, the veteran in Martin, he knew how to do it as well,” admitted Hamlin, speaking of the subtle art of tire management. “We just had a great car, great team. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them. Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.”
All things considered, it was an all-out Joe Gibbs Racing showdown at the Tennessean racetrack. The four JGR drivers led a combined 383 of the 500 laps, of which Hamlin led 163, Ty Gibbs led 137, Truex 54, and Christopher Bell, 29.
