Confused Denny Hamlin Unsatisfied With Toyota’s Supposed ‘Earth Shattering Change’

It was understood that the new Toyota Camry XSE would prove a handful for their rivals in the 2024 Cup Series season. Yet, it has been two Chevrolets taking home the wins so far in the season, with Ford’s very own Mustang Dark Horse dominating the qualifying rounds. On paper, the new Toyota body looked like a sizeable upgrade over its predecessors, but over the two races, it hasn’t stayed true to its promise. This has now prompted Denny Hamlin to speak out about the new Toyota car, and clearly, he is not satisfied with the output he’s seen so far.

Only three Cup Series teams field Toyota Camry cars; JGR, 23X1, and Legacy Motor Club. As far as sheer speed and clocking the quickest laps around the circuit as concerned, the new Camry still has a lot to catch up against the Mustangs. However, the third qualifying race of the season saw four Toyotas break into the top-10 starting positions for the Vegas race. Thus suggesting that the car will start to deliver on its promise after a slow start.

“The car is the same”: Denny Hamlin’s take on the new Toyota Camry XSE

Denny Hamlin sure knows his way around cars, as he is one of the more experienced drivers out there. But even for someone like him, the car is a relatively new machine and thus will take time to try to reach its maximum potential. While there have been positives for the new car, the JGR driver is not fully satisfied with its output, suggesting he is learning to get it to the optimal speed levels.

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Speaking in an interview with Frontstretch, he said, “I really am just trying to get all the information in it. I can learn about it and be better. Again, this is not a life-changing, earth-shattering change, it’s still the car itself is the same. The body changed, the engine didn’t change, and suspension or any of that. So, I just have to learn what it takes to make speed out of it.”

Denny Hamlin’s frustration is understandable, as TRD’s bold claims of the new Camry coming out of the gates pretty strong have not materialized. The only driver who somehow has managed to find a consistent running with the new Camry is Bubba Wallace. He has managed to score back-to-back top-fives in tricky venues like Daytona and Atlanta, while also securing the #5 starting position for the Pennzoil 400 race.

In expressing his discontent with the new car, Hamlin went on to suggest changes that would look like an improvement or an upgrade for the rest of the season.

Denny Hamlin wants more chances to win with the new Toyota Camry

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Toyota drivers are, in some ways, struggling to come to grips with the speed of the car and put on a challenge against their competitors. For the Daytona 500, the Camrys did put on a good show, but their lack of any major improvement was exposed in Atlanta. Only two of the Toyota drivers managed to enter the top-ten finishing positions. So Hamlin feels that the new cars will need to deliver a consistent top-placing finish to justify the revamp and redesign of the whole car.

“I think it’s more chances to win. Any car manufacturer or team could always have one car that is capable of hitting at any given weekend. But when you have multiple cars up front, that’s usually the sign that your team or your manufacturer has hit on something correct, versus just the set-up, the individual teams put in. So, I’m going to look to, do we take up the bulk of the top-five or top-ten, if we do that, then I think, we’re probably going to be where we want to be.”

Going into the third race of the season at Vegas, Denny Hamlin will look to make amends for his slow start to the season. P19 at Daytona and P23 at Atlanta are far from the driver’s and team’s expectations to contend for the championship.