Phoenix Raceway hosting the Cup Series finale has been a matter of contention among fans and insiders for a while now considering the recent issues plaguing short tracks. NASCAR star Denny Hamlin believes that the Kansas Speedway might be a viable alternative to it. The 43-year-old spoke highly of the intermediate in a recent media interaction and explained that competition among drivers is a lot higher in Kansas than it is in Phoenix.
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“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 said.
The problem with Phoenix is that the Next-Gen car makes it incredibly tough to pass there. Just look at the championship race last season. Ryan Blaney did all he could to pass Ross Chastain but it just wasn’t enough. A driver in the lead can make life difficult for those behind him with the controversial aero-blocking technique and it gets frustrating for fans to watch it.
Kansas, on the other hand, is a lot more demanding. The difference in track width from the straights to the turns is quite drastic. Drivers also have to drive close to the fence since that’s where the grip is. Passing other cars requires a high degree of balance and huge wrecks can occur if that balance is even slightly offset.
What makes Hamlin so good at Kansas
Hamlin has a great record at the track with four wins and 14 top-5 finishes. He finished each of his last six races in Kansas inside the top 5. He believes that the No. 11 team’s consistency in every lane on the track is what has made it so formidable. This just shows how good of a race car driver Hamlin is since it takes a lot of skill to perform at this level consistently.
“I think the things that have made us really strong here is the ability to run the same lap time in multiple lanes,” he said. “Certainly, everyone can run fast when they go up by the wall, but can you run fast when you actually have to pass someone and have to go down low? I think our ability and the versatility of our car over the last few years is really what’s made us excel.”
Maybe if Kansas was the venue of the finale, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran could win the Cup Series championship one day. He did mention that there was a bit of personal bias in his opinion that Kansas would be a good option for hosting the finale. It will be interesting to see how he performs this Sunday.
