Last weekend’s playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway was a memorable one for many reasons. From William Byron getting his 6th win of the season to his teammate ramming into the outside wall, this race saw it all. However, when Byron won the race and grabbed the checkered flag, he was indeed thankful that the crowd had shown up, even when it was scorching hot.

The temperature shot up to over 90 degrees and every driver out there was feeling the heat. It was one of the hottest races of the entire season and hence, the Cup teams took every possible measure to ensure that the drivers didn’t fall sick and drive comfortably.

The best heat-preventive measure was cold shirts. Not to mention, Hendrick Motorsports had ample supply of these shirts for their drivers to not get too hot during the race. However, for Denny Hamlin, it seemed unnecessary.

Denny Hamlin does not feel anything but the need to win

The driver of the number #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Kyle Larson, explained that Cold shirts are special vests that the drivers wear under their fire suits to aid them in a comfortable drive when the temperature is excruciatingly high. However, Denny Hamlin denied his golf buddy’s claim.

Denny Hamlin said heat never bothered him, as he is always laser-focused when he is inside his #11 Toyota. The 42-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver declared that he did not need cold shirts.

In a recent episode of Actions Detrimental, he told his co-host Jared Allen, “I’m not sure what it is, adrenaline or whatever. Once I get in the car, I don’t feel the heat much at all. It’s a non-factor certainly performance-wise; I just don’t get bothered by heat that much generally.”

Nevertheless, he did not deny that it was hot indeed. “The team made me wear a cold shirt this week,” he said. “I’m glad they had it for sure. Once I got in the car, it was much, much better than standing on the pit road. I was sweating.”

“The back to the a** sweat just kept going and I’m like, get me in this car so at least I can sit down and be more comfortable,” he added.

Denny Hamlin has a weird relationship with heat, it seems. When it is normal to feel hotter inside the car wearing driver gear near a 700 HP producing engine, Denny Hamlin feels comfortable as soon as he buckles himself up to the driver’s seat. However, his opponents felt way differently.

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The temperature rose up to 107 at Fort Worth in Texas last Sunday. The last time it was this hot was back in the 2020 playoff race in Las Vegas. Besides the concerns of the asphalt on the 1.5-mile track leaking oil and losing grip on the tires, drivers were worried about how they would fare driving in those extreme weather conditions.

NASCAR officials rescheduled the race for 400 miles instead of 500 for the very first time last week. But even 400 miles seemed like a lot for drivers like William Byron. According to NBC, Byron said, “I do think it’s going to be tough. These cars are really hot. It’s nice that it’s 100 miles shorter. It’s a bigger race track, so there’s a little bit more airflow and less work in the corners. I feel like if you were at Bristol and it was 100 degrees, you’d have guys really falling out. But here, I think it will be a little bit easier.”

However, RCR icon Kyle Busch and Team Penske speedster Ryan Blaney joined hands expressing their concerns for the fans who had come to watch the race. Blaney said, “I worry more for people in the grandstands sitting out all day and stuff like that. That concerns me more than me being in the car.”

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Kyle Busch admitted that he wouldn’t have paid to watch a NASCAR race under a 100-degree sun. On that note, he considered himself fortunate to be a part of a sport that had such a dedicated audience.

Rowdy exclaimed, “I give NASCAR fans all the credit in the world because they are a damn strong bunch. They are passionate, and they are loving to our sport as much as we want them to be. But to be out in the 100-degree heat in aluminum grandstands, I’m not paying to do that.”