“It was a 100% success”: Denny Hamlin delivers glowing verdict of NASCAR’s tire selection at Phoenix

Denny Hamlin approved of NASCAR's tire selection at Phoenix Raceway. The longtime Joe Gibbs Racing driver argued that the option tires were a "100% success" in providing high-octane racing action in the desert.

Driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry, Hamlin finished in second place in the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. He opted for the option tires on lap 270 for his final stint. However, his teammate, Christopher Bell, edged him by 0.049 seconds in a thrilling last-lap showdown.

In the latest episode of his podcast (Actions Detrimental), Denny Hamlin delivered his verdict on NASCAR's decision to provide primary and option tires at the 1.0-mile track.

"I certainly think that we've got a winner. Me and Dale Jr. believed for the longest time that Goodyear has the keys to NASCAR Cup Series racing. It's evident that we were right because we've got tire falloff. We finally got them to put some soft tires on the car. The results of the racing that we've seen speaks for itself." (0:04 onwards)

He added:

"It was a 100% success. I can't think of a short track, or a mile or less track that these tires couldn't go and race at."

His podcast co-host, Jared Allen, asked whether two tire options should be the go-to moving forward.

"Well, we don't want options," Hamlin replied. "I think you start getting a little bit quirky when that happens. I think you just would have fantastic racing no matter what with just the straight ass option tire."

NASCAR's primary and option tires follow a similar concept as Formula 1's soft and hard tires. The option tires provide more speed but wear faster. In contrast, the primary tires last longer but run slower than the alternative.

Before the Phoenix spring race, NASCAR said it would consider bringing back the softer option tire in the Phoenix fall race (Championship 4 race) if it "works well."

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"He had to use me": Denny Hamlin on last-lap battle with teammate Christopher Bell at Phoenix

Denny Hamlin, who finished second behind Christopher Bell at Phoenix Raceway, explained that he knew his teammate would use him on the final lap. He was forced to the wall as Bell took the victory for three consecutive races.

Regardless, Denny Hamlin applauded Joe Gibbs Racing for giving its drivers fast cars at the Arizona track. In a post-race interview, the No. 11 driver told Jamie Little:

"You know, it's the first time we were able to get some clean air all day, and obviously, our car was really fast. I really kind of wanted it to stay green there [...] We got a good restart, the #5 really gave me a great push on the frontstretch on the restart and then down the backstretch."

"So I had kind of a position on the #20 but I knew he was gonna ship it in there, he had to use me, he could, and obviously we just kind of ran out of racetrack there but great finish, great job by the whole Joe Gibbbs team to give us some fast cars," he added.

The second-place finish at Phoenix Raceway is Denny Hamlin's best result so far this year. He had a sixth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished outside the top 20 at both Daytona and Circuit of the Americas.

The 54-time Cup race winner enters the Las Vegas Motor Speedway stop this weekend seventh in the standings after advancing 10 positions.