NASCAR
Denny Hamlin Reigns Supreme in Aggressive Tire Management Bristol Race
BRISTOL, Tenn. – A wild, chaotic, unpredictable, and highly entertaining 500 laps at Bristol was on full display Sunday. In a throwback tire management show that resembled a late model race, two veteran short track aces dueled it out for the win. Denny Hamlin takes a second straight Bristol win over teammate Martin Truex Jr, following a hotly contested final run.
Early on the day seemed as if would belong to another Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota–Ty Gibbs. Driver No. 54 appeared poised for a maiden Cup Series victory, taking his first two career Stage wins. Gibbs’ march to victory lane would be derailed however by losing his tires’ pace with 75 laps left. Tire strategy and conservation vs. charging forward was the name of the game all day long, with many cautions for single car blowouts and heavy degradation under each caution.
After JGR ran 1-2-3-4 for some of the afternoon, Gibbs’ misfortunes handed the top two spots to Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. The No. 11 taking command over Gibbs earlier in the race also broke a Bristol track record. In the end, 54 different lead changes ended up being an all-time high mark for NASCAR on short tracks. 16 different drivers leading a lap on Sunday is also a Bristol record.
Hamlin took command from Gibbs with 75 laps left, but still had to hold off MTJ. Truex briefly got the upper hand in lapped traffic, but Hamlin’s team executed better on their final green flag pit stop. Ultimately, the final run’s gap was just enough for Hamlin to cruise to Bristol victory lane again.
One of the biggest advocates for less sturdy tires, Hamlin hearkened back to his racing roots with this win.
“That’s what I grew up here doing in the short tracks in the Mid Atlantic, South Boston, Martinsville, and more,” Hamlin said. “Once it became a tire management race, I really liked our chances.”
“Obviously the veteran in Martin (Truex Jr), he knew how to do it as well. We just had a great car, great team. The pit crew just did a phenomenal job all day. Can’t say enough about them.”
“First time Express Oil Change on the car. Appreciate all the Mavis folks as well. FedEx, Coca-Cola, the whole group. Man, it feels so good to win in Bristol.”
Behind Hamlin and Truex, only three other drivers were on the lead lap: Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson. This is the fewest to finish on a Cup Series lead lap in almost 20 years. The rest of the top-10 were: John Hunter Nemechek, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs, and Christopher Bell. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
The NASCAR Cup Series will be back in action Sunday from Austin, Texas’ Circuit of the Americas. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will go green Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The first road course race of 2024 may provide a prime opportunity for an upset winner to find victory lane.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
