Denny Hamlin Shocked by Christopher Bell’s Clash Absence, Calls Out JGR Crew Chief’s “Scuff Tires” Decision

While Denny Hamlin emerged victorious in the Clash at the Coliseum on Saturday, not all of his teammates had good performances in the event. Christopher Bell, for example, simply wasn’t fast enough to make it through to the big race. That is not to say that the 29-year-old was not operating at a high level. Christopher Bell, not making the main race, was a shock, not only for his teammate but also for a lot of people in the NASCAR community. Just a few months ago, the 29-year-old was at Phoenix racing for the Cup Series championship. As far as Hamlin goes, he believes the choice of tires for the #20 may have been the reason.

The LA Memorial Coliseum track differs from the tracks raced on in the Cup Series. Obviously, its small size stands out, but the effect it has on tires is often overlooked. In a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin explained how different the tires behaved on track and how it was a challenge to use them to the optimal level.

Denny Hamlin outlines the difference between Cup Series tracks and Coliseum track

The 43-year-old said that it took a long time for the tires to come up to the temperature required to run fast laps and by that time, it might have already been too late for his teammate. However, Bell was not the only one who faced this issue, as several drivers complained of low grip during the event.

“To see Bell missing it was a huge shock. He was fast in practice. I think they made the decision, as far as I understand, to put on scruff tires. The tires were just so interesting at that track that it seemed like it took a few laps, like 10, 15, for them to get heated to run fast laps. I don’t know what the combination of the track and tire was that took a long time to get going. Any other race track we got about 3 corners to nail it perfectly to run a fast lap. So that track is very interesting in that aspect,” Hamlin said.

Denny Hamlin also spoke of his mentality going into the event and compared it to Christopher Bell’s. While it may not be how the #20 driver thought before the event, it certainly is an interesting insight.

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JGR star speculates his teammate’s mentality before disaster

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As per the 43-year-old, the fact that Bell made it into the final 4 might have given him a sense of comfort that he would make it into the main race. Denny Hamlin revealed that he too, thought about qualifying for the main race in that manner. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass, as the #20 just wasn’t fast enough to qualify.

“He’s probably thinking surely the 3 guys that finished ahead of me in points, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and William Byron will be fast enough, they’ll be in the top 22. No matter what happens I’ll have a comfortable place to fall back on. Surely from my perspective, I thought about it during the week. I’m like well I mean for one of those guys to not make the top something after heat races and last chance like, surely I’ll be able to get in no matter what,” Hamlin said.

One thing that Christopher Bell will be relieved by is the fact that this was not a Cup Series race. And the JGR star was not the only big name to have not been fast enough to qualify. Neither of the Kaulig Racing drivers made it through and even Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney had to settle for the reserved 23rd spot in the event since he is the reigning champion. Regardless, the #20 JGR team will be looking to improve by a lot come the Daytona 500.

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