Denny Hamlin Unveils the Biggest Threat to His & Other Cup Contenders’ Chances of Acing at Chicago

Denny Hamlin set the pace for the race on Sunday, securing his third pole of the season with a lap time of 88.435 seconds. Starting at the front of the pack on what is considered one of the most challenging tracks in Chicago, Hamlin has his sights set on claiming his 50th victory in the Cup series.

The track proved to be bumpy, with sharp corners that caused both Chase Elliott and William Byron to make contact with the walls. Hamlin, too, emphasized the toughness of the track during an interview, although he also praised the quality of the pavement. Amidst these discussions, there is a significant threat looming for Hamlin and his pursuit of the 50th Cup series title.

Denny Hamlin Reveals His Big Threat at Chicago Run

Despite Denny Hamlin’s pole position, it was New Zealand driver Shane Van Gisbergen who grabbed the headlines during the Chicago qualifying. His impressive use of his right leg for braking in the challenging narrow corners was a sight to behold. It earned him the third position in qualifying, just a few milliseconds behind polesitter Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick.

While Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick are strong contenders for victory, Denny mentioned another formidable competitor at Grant Park. In a post-race interview, Denny acknowledged Shane’s skills, stating “The biggest thing I noticed is the guy (Shane Van Gisbergen) is lightning fast, and all of the corners I feel super uncomfortable using that extra three inches against the wall.”

“So, where the track is the narrowest and where you saw Chase (Elliott) and those guys kind of get into the wall is where he is extremely fast. He’s just got a feel for those barriers and the car control that he has. That’s his advantage right now is that we’re not used to having to cut the corners that tight and he is. It’s been impressive what he’s done today for sure.” DH concluded.

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Securing the pole position wasn’t a walk in the park for the FedEx driver, as he narrowly avoided contact with the walls. He suggested that some changes should be made to the track for tomorrow’s race.

Denny Hamlin address NASCAR to make the needful change on the Chicago Track

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In preparation for the race, all drivers and teams relied on simulators and notes as the track was inaccessible until Saturday morning. Once they finally got on the track, drivers encountered certain obstacles, particularly at the sharp corners. According to reports, the final corner of the circuit featured the most challenging turn, requiring drivers to reduce their speed to just 40mph in order to navigate it. In order to protect the drivers from potential severe impacts, NASCAR placed large barrels in that corner.

During the same interview, Denny Hamlin addressed this matter, stating, “The final turn where pit entry is there are huge barrels there and with it only being a 40-mile-per-hour corner, we probably don’t need those huge barrels.”

“So, if you could probably take one of those concrete barriers off the entrance to pit road because there are no pit stalls for the first three stalls anyway and move those barrels back 20 to 25 feet, it would allow us to go through the final corner a little bit faster so we’re not causing a huge stack up with the cars that are pitting and the ones that are not.”

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Hamlin continued explaining the track, “Your passing zones are going to be in the first six corners and then after that you’ve just got to maintain. That’s where you’re going to make the passes. The track gets so narrow after turn 6 that you’re not going to do much there.”