Following the rain-shortened but exhilarating Cup Series action at Atlanta, NASCAR nation is eagerly awaiting the thrills to unfold at New Hampshire this week. With the community headed straight for Magic Mile, NASCAR veteran and the man who publicly called out Chase Elliott, exposing his ill intentions, is back with more comments about the HMS star.
While the 2020 Cup Series champ is still chasing the first win of his 2023 season, veteran Hamlin knew the ropes when he spoke about Elliott, making a sharp U-turn, mere days after calling out his “bulls**t move.”
Speaking on the latest Action Detrimental podcast, the 42-year-old briefed about the playoffs and shared his championship speculations. Even though the odds are stacked against him being at -60, Denny Hamlin revealed Elliott’s strengths, essentially deeming the 27-year-old as the cream of the crop but leaving out the “Rowdy” in his final-four predictions.
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Denny Hamlin goes “f**k stats,” getting real about Chase Elliott’s chances with 7 more races to go
Just weeks after exposing Chase Elliott’s ill intentions to the community, Denny Hamlin took a detour as we head to New Hampshire. With 7 more races to go for the playoffs, the JGR driver is all in praise for his latest rival, Elliott. Joined by his co-host, Jared Allen, the veteran got real about the 2020 champ’s playoff chances, completely ignoring the analytics.
Elliott hasn’t been strong this season and is still chasing this first win. Drawing on this, Hamlin said, “Elliott runs the best of all of them. He’s gonna get the most stage points, he’s -60 with 7 to go and he has got to beat Suarez and McDowell. That, you know, he can do that and I don’t think it’s gonna be even a sweat. But he hasn’t run that well. I get it. I’m being, stats are real, but f**k stats!”
Although this might be the case, Hamlin also highlighted the bright side, saying, “But he’s finishing well, he’s getting stage points.” He also touched upon Elliott’s performance at Chicago, coming out and finishing it in the top-3 out of nowhere.
While Elliott is in the 23rd spot with just 5 top-5s, Hamlin revealed Elliott’s strengths. He said, “I think these racetracks suit him, he has got 2 road courses where he has not really fallen off, results are still good. He’s still gonna get a very very good result for you and probably score stage points, and then the Michigans, he’s gonna be strong, the Richmonds, he’ll be strong, I mean all these tracks kind of fit what I think Chase Elliott, I mean he’s good everywhere.“
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Concluding his take on the #9 driver, Hamlin simply put it, “I don’t care how you mix this up. With 7 to go, racing against these guys, he’s faster, he has got better results, and he’s kind of getting more stage points. So, Imma put Elliott.” While he is hopeful to see more out of the HMS driver, Hamlin did not hesitate to share his blunt thoughts about the 3rd ranked “Rowdy” Kyle Busch‘s final 4 chances.
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“I don’t understand Kyle Busch”: Denny Hamlin leaves out the “Rowdy”
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With NASCAR Cup Series nearing its last leg, Hamlin also got real about the number 3 ranked, Richard Childress Racing driver, Kyle Busch. Though Busch has 3 wins, closely behind points leader, William Byron, Hamlin expressed his genuine doubts about seeing the 2-time champ in the final four.
He said, “I don’t understand Kyle Busch. I didn’t think he ran that well yesterday and I looked up and finished 5th. Again, most of the guys that finished up front were part of that stay-out strategy.” He then added to his skepticism saying, “I’m not sure about Kyle, I’m gonna say I’m probably gonna pass on the final 4 there.”
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With the JGR driver giving us his final four including his friend, Kyle Larson, the ever-polarising Ross Chastain, and his JGR teammate, Martin Truex Jr, the community got an insight into how things may play out as we head to New Hampshire for the Crayon 301 this Sunday.
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