“I Was Aero-Blocking the Sh*t Out of Truex”- Denny Hamlin Confesses His Role in Costing JGR Teammate a Win at Nashville

The Ally 400 was surely an eye-opener in various aspects. For one, it saw the victory of Ross Chastain, who was embroiled in controversies in the earlier part of the season. The second was Chastain’s teammate, showing his support for the victory. After exiting from the car, Daniel Suarez ran to Chastain to congratulate him on his victory. This incident exemplifies one thing: the importance of teammates.

In sports like NASCAR, it is not just individual winnings that matter the most. But the collective efforts that each and every member put in to take the top spot highlight the true meaning of sportsmanship. 

But more often than not, the competitive streak often overpowers the psyche of the drivers. And it is just the individual selves that receive the highest priority. And Denny Hamlin’s words emphasize that, in the episode of Action Detrimental.

Denny Hamlin Reveals How He Managed to Maintain His Lead in Ally 400

While it was Ross Chastain who strategically pulled his car, ahead of the two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr, initially it was Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr that took the reins of the race during the restart at Stage 2. While it was the JGR drivers who were vying for the podium finish and led a total of 131 combined, it was the No.1 Chevrolet driver who outlasted the drivers and went on to take the victory.

However, Hamlin holding off his teammate Truex Jr was purely intentional and not to give up his position. In his podcast episode speaking to Jared Allen and William Byron, Hamlin confessed, “It was a really long run, I was aero-blocking that sh*t out of Truex because I am like, if I let him go I am not gonna win. A caution could come, anything. Guys battle with each other for track position, especially in a place like that more than ever, because you know every spot you go back from first, your car is gonna slow down just a few hundred.”

He added, “I held off Martin for the bulk of the run and, while trying to keep in front of him, slowed both of us down. Ross comes, and he was strong in the long run, anyway. He ran Martin down pretty quickly. He passed me down pretty quickly. And then we had the last stop and he just did a good job battling through and keeping the lead.”

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It was a good race for the Toyota drivers, as they claimed the runners-up spots. While the Chevrolet-backed Hendrick Motorsports, drivers ended their day with the 4th, 5th, and 6th spots. 

It was William Byron who clinched the sixth spot, and speaking about his performance, expressed, “We were okay, we were 5th running around for most of the night and finished 6th.”

However, he also revealed, “Ross would always come on like we would go maybe 20 laps to the stage and it was a matter of time before he could run up 1 and 2 carrying a lot of speed. I thought Reddick was really good too.”

“We came off the road side by side and he lost the wheel. Ross had speed all weekend. I was surprised I thought Truex was the best, but he built free-offs and was struggling on exit,” Byron added.

The final bits of the race were nothing less than a captivating performance from the three drivers. While there were no major incidents apart from Reddick’s tire falling off just before entering the pits and Blaney’s horrific crash, the drivers ended the week on a high note. And they are ready to put their all into the Chicago Street Race on July 2nd.

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