In a risky sport like NASCAR, it often is a do-or-die situation. Denny Hamlin is one of the drivers who needs a title win the most, as he has failed to achieve one being a frontrunner for the last 20 years. This year started well as he managed to win 3 races, only to have his Bristol win revoked due to a mistake on Toyota’s end. However, the playoffs so far have been a whole different story.

It’s a cliche to say that Denny Hamlin has been on a roller coaster ride during the playoffs, but there is no better way to say it. He barely scraped by the first round, and he wouldn’t even have made it into the top 12 if it wasn’t for his P4 finish at Bristol to redeem his negated win. Round 2 worked out quite well for him as he managed to have a top-10 finish at both Kansas and Talladega. With a cutoff race at Charlotte, he has something of a statement to make.

Denny Hamlin has special plans to win at the Roval

If you are a Denny Hamlin fan, you already know that he is quite good at oval tracks. But on the other hand, road courses have never been his strong suit. With the next race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway being the Roval road course track, many are wondering if Hamlin will be able to maintain his top 10s. He managed to break into the top 10 at Talladega simply by luck.

Having run far away from the leaders throughout the race, Hamlin made a desperate call towards the end. His strategy revolved around waiting for a big pileup in the front and then making up positions. The same strategy that failed in Atlanta worked a miracle in Talladega. Cindric spun out, and half the grid followed in the biggest crash in NASCAR history. Denny Hamlin’s gamble left him in 10th place.

Of course, what Hamlin wants is not just a top-10 finish. He would like to win the race if he wants a chance at leading the playoffs. To make that happen, Hamlin has revealed his plans for how he will be racing at The Roval. While heading into the Roval qualifiers, Denny Hamlin was asked about his strategy for the upcoming race. Peter Stratta reported Hamlin’s take on dive bombing in the upcoming road course track, and what Hamlin had to say shocked fans.

Denny Hamlin gave a candid answer, saying, “Certainly if I get desperate enough, I’m happy to be a lizard and adapt to my environment. Ethics are way different than what they used to be in the past.” What might quell his concern about dive bombing is NASCAR’s latest change with track limits and corner cutting, bringing in massive penalties for anyone not racing within the white lines. Although it does bring a sense of relief to most in the NASCAR community, with Charlotte being a cutoff race, a last-ditch dive bomb while cutting through track limits isn’t out of the picture.

With this, Hamlin sends off a warning to other drivers, stating that he would dive bomb them if need be and that it would be in the best interests for them to approach the No. 11 carefully on the track. The Charlotte Roval has been reconfigured for the 2024 playoff race, and here is what Denny Hamlin had to say about it.

Denny Hamlin’s say about the modifications to the Roval

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Ever since the announcement of there being modifications to the Roval, many drivers have come forth to share their thoughts on the circuit. The layout of the Roval has been changed by drastic means, as drivers will skip the older turn 6 while heading straight down the track. After turn 6, it will be the new hairpin as turn 7, which will let drivers exit into the outer oval track. The next change to the track is not as drastic as the last, as turns 15, 16, and 17 have been modified to make the chicane more sharp. These changes are what Denny Hamlin is not too happy about, as he believes that they would cause chaos on the tracks instead of making the race cleaner.

According to Hamlin, “The reconfiguration was designed to create more chaos. You’re going to have to convince me otherwise of that. You’re going to have to convince me otherwise of that. They make corners sharper and tighter. It was tighter in Turn 7 anyway, but now they made it to a point. So instead of you driving the normal optimum line to make this corner that is really, really tight, tighter than the (LA) Coliseum.”

Regardless, Denny Hamlin has not had the best luck at Roval in the past. Just last year, the No. 11 driver finished 37th after getting wrecked out, and his worries for this year might stem from that. So far, Hamlin has had a P5-best finish at the track and for him to make it into the next round, that should be good enough. Right now, Hamlin sits comfortably in the top 4 drivers; however, he could also find himself in the elimination zone if he wrecks out early.

Considering all of this, do you think that Denny Hamlin will survive the weekend to continue the championship battle at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway? Share your thoughts in the comments below.