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NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is known for his aggressive style of driving on the track. He is one of the few drivers who isn't afraid of speaking their minds and this is a quality that his fans like about him.
As the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs head to Las Vegas this weekend, every driver and their teams will be looking forward to giving their absolute best to bag the 2023 championship trophy.
The team's collective strengths and weaknesses play a significant role in the performance of the team and the driver.
In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, they sought out the eight drivers, crew chiefs and competition directors to evaluate the positive and negative aspects of each driver while providing full anonymity to get their honest feedback.
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An anonymous NASCAR insider stated that they like Denny Hamlin's arrogance as one of his strengths.
The insider said,
“I wouldn’t bet against him, even if he’s annoying. I like his arrogance. I like him embracing who he is right now.”
Adding to the list of Hamlin's strengths, one insider spoke highly of Hamlin's crew chief Chris Gabehart.
“I have tremendous respect for Chris as a crew chief. I think he is one of the best. He’s obviously really smart. He seems to think things out well, not a shoot-from-the hip kind of guy.”
When asked to specify Hamlin's weakness, one insider said,
“Some people will say maybe he’s choked in the past, and while I don’t think that’s true, I mean, he has made mistakes at critical times and that’s the only thing I think is a pitfall, potentially.”
The Joe Gibbs driver has three wins this season and has stated that he is feeling very "optimistic" about advancing through the playoffs despite wrecking out at Charlotte Roval last weekend.
Denny Hamlin advanced to the playoffs despite DNF at Charlotte Roval
Denny Hamlin didn't get to finish his race at Charlotte Roval last weekend after spinning out at the last chicane.
The damage to his Joe Gibbs wasn't that serious but later when Mike Rockenfeller bumped the No.11 at the back, Hamlin's car sustained damage and was done for the day.
Hamlin's pit crew tried to repair the car but they exceeded the DVP and couldn't send the car out on time with Hamlin ending up DNF. Despite being unable to finish the race, Hamlin managed to advance through the round 8 playoffs to Las Vegas.
