Denny Hamlin has revealed there was one point during the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway when he believed Joey Logano could be beaten. Hamlin finished second after chasing the Team Penske driver for most of the race but said there was a brief period when Logano looked vulnerable.
The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran shared his thoughts on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, explaining how changing track conditions briefly gave him hope. However, Logano quickly regained control and went on to lead a race-high 323 laps on his way to victory. Hamlin admitted his team needed strategy or traffic to create an opportunity because the No. 22 Ford was the strongest car throughout the NASCAR Cup Series race.
Denny Hamlin Saw a Brief Opportunity After Green-Flag Stops
Hamlin said his best chance came shortly after the green-flag pit cycle when he found himself directly behind Logano.
“For the first 10 laps after he came out of the pits and I was right on his bumper, I thought he looked a little more vulnerable. At that point, I was thinking maybe, because the track stayed rubbered in during the green-flag stop, his car wasn’t reacting as well as it normally would.”
Hamlin believed the racing surface had changed enough to reduce Logano’s advantage.
“Usually, after cautions, the track gets cleaned up because everyone drives slowly, and the tires pick up the rubber that’s on the racing surface. I thought maybe that’s why he had been so strong earlier, when the track was cleaner.”
Even with the gap staying small, Hamlin knew he could not push harder without hurting his own chances later in the run.
“I could stay close enough to keep him honest, but it was a fine line. I felt like if I pushed any harder, I would’ve had nothing left once we got into heavy traffic. So I just stayed there, and he’d pull away by about six inches each lap.”
NASCAR Cup Series Win Showed Joey Logano’s Speed
Although Hamlin sensed a brief opening, he admitted Logano had the fastest car during the NASCAR Cup Series event.
“I thought the 22 was just exceptional. It didn’t seem like he was super line-dependent,” Hamlin said, explaining that Logano could attack the corners from different grooves because of the car’s grip.
“Joey was able to be really aggressive, especially on restarts with it,” he added.
Hamlin also said his team knew they would need something unexpected to beat Logano.
“I thought if we were going to win, we were going to have to steal it. It would’ve taken him getting caught in traffic or something like that. We were just second best.”
Logano later acknowledged that Hamlin became a real threat during the closing laps. He said the No. 11 “got really good there in the last run” and added that track position helped decide the outcome.
Strategy Nearly Changed the Outcome
Hamlin’s crew tried to gain the advantage by bringing the No. 11 into the pits one lap before Logano.
“After we short-pitted him by one lap, I saw him on the apron coming out of pit road. I actually thought he had a bigger lead than he really did. I loved the call from Chris Gabehart. We were trying to get out in front of him because when you’re racing a car that’s about equal in speed, getting track position can change everything.”
Hamlin believed leading the race would have changed the battle.
“If we had gotten ahead, I could’ve made his car handle worse by driving defensively. We tried, but we just weren’t quite good enough. If he had stayed out one more lap, we would’ve jumped ahead of him.”
Hamlin finished second, extending his NASCAR Cup Series championship lead to 68 points over Tyler Reddick. Logano’s victory ended his long winless streak and gave the No. 22 Team Penske team an important boost as the NASCAR Cup Series season continued.
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