“Go really slow”: Denny Hamlin perplexed over lack of attention to Carson Hocevar’s unique strategy

Denny Hamlin, the NASCAR driver, discussed Carson Hocevar’s unique strategy to avoid losing spots in the race on his podcast, Actions Detrimental. Hocevar finished 37th in the Straight Talk Wireless 400.

Hocevar drives the #77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports and is currently ranked 22nd in the Cup Series with 92 points. At Homestead-Miami Speedway, his innovative racing strategy came into play when he slowed down at the end of Stage 1, avoided getting lapped, and started much higher in the spots than he would have at the start of Stage 2.

This decision came after a caution caused by Christopher Bell's spin, allowing him to maintain a strategic advantage over competitors who pitted late in the stage. This allowed Carson Hocevar to save his newer tires for Stage 2. The strategic manoeuvring resulted in Hocevar running as high as 12th place but mechanical issues later in the race caused a disappointing DNF.

Denny Hamlin and his co-host, Jared Allen, discussed this moment of Cup Series racing on his Dirty Mo Media podcast, Actions Detrimental. Denny Hamlin said:

"I have wondered why people don't do this more often...you're about to be at a tire deficit to those who are going to pit at the end of the stage. So Carson, he ran at the back of the pack really slow."

"So that's the right call. And I've wondered why people don't do that more often. It's just go really slow. Don't get lapped. Then you will jump ahead of all the people that hit pit road.", the co-owner of 23XI Racing added

Denny Hamlin, the #11 driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, is currently ranked at eighth in the Cup standings with a total of 164 points. He has yet to secure a win but has achieved one top-five finish and two top-ten finishes.

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Denny Hamlin made his demand clear amid JGR’s worrisome decline

Denny Hamlin addressed the performance of Joe Gibbs Racing, acknowledging that the team isn't performing at its peak despite securing three race wins this season. Hamlin emphasized the need for improvement, particularly in leading laps consistently, which has been a hallmark of JGR's dominance in past seasons. He believes the team needs to enhance the speed of their cars to become consistent contenders week after week.

He highlighted that he was the only JGR driver to lead laps during the recent Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami, which he sees as a troubling sign for the team's competitiveness.

“I still think we’ve got work to do,” Hamlin said. “I contend that we still don’t have the speed that it takes to lead a ton of laps, which is showing in laps led. We’re not leading laps like we have in the past. All of JGR. So I think we’ve just got to get our cars a little bit faster to really contend week in, week out, right now.” (via NASCAR)

During the race at Homestead-Miami, Hamlin finished in fifth place, following his new teammate Chase Briscoe.