JGR's Denny Hamlin displeased with qualifying efforts, yet commends Goodyear’s tire choice for Watkins Glen

Denny Hamlin admitted not getting the job done in the qualifying session for this year’s Go Bowling at The Glen. During a post-qualifying interview, Hamlin talked to the media about his qualifying efforts amid his troubled playoff run and the new Goodyear tire compound.

Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin is a 43-year-old NASCAR Cup Series veteran with an impressive 54 Cup win under his belt. However, the No. 11 23XI Toyota driver has yet to secure his first championship title, and this year seems the odds are still against him.

According to the Virginia native, he didn’t run the qualifying session as planned, saying:

“Just didn’t do a good job hitting my marks. That was really it.” [0:37]

“The field is just so close, a tenth would have put us moving on the next round and I blew two corners big time. So just didn’t execute my job,” Hamlin continued.

Denny Hamlin put his No. 11 Toyota Camry in P22 after a challenging qualifying session. This means 11 playoff drivers will be starting ahead of him, with Kyle Larson being the closest rival to clear on Sunday’s race in P20. The lead playoff driver at Watkins Glen is JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr., who will start in 2nd behind pole-sitter Ross Chastain.

Despite the subpar qualifying results, Hamlin still commended the new Goodyear tire compound, which is designed to fall off about three seconds from the start to finish off a stint.

“I thought the fall off is really good. Certainly, Goodyear’s hit on something here that’s, you know, great for the future,” Hamlin said [0:28].

Denny Hamlin told reporters that he doesn’t love the tricky spot he’s in at this stage of the season. But the JGR driver still believes his playoff hopes are alive, given he can do his best in the last two races of the Round of 16 at Watkins Glen and Bristol.

“Certainly, I don’t love where I’m at. That’s a given. But I still think if I just do the best I can tomorrow, do the best I can at Bristol, it still will work itself out. But if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” Hamlin stated [5:08].

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Denny Hamlin will make up for a poor playoff opener at Watkins Glen

Denny Hamlin is not having the best starts in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, having finished P24 at Quaker State 400 in Atlanta following a controversial race strategy. He decided to stay at the back to avoid potential wrecks and settle for at least 20 points.

The strategy was criticized by Kyle Petty, saying he never heard a playoff driver go out on track to get just 20 points. When the flag fell at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hamlin only scored 13 points, which dropped his position in the playoff standings to 11th and +2 to the cut line.

Denny Hamlin only finished in 24th at the opening playoff race - Source: Imagn

The No. 11 Toyota will look to advance in the field from P22 at tomorrow's race at Watkins Glens. It will be the first of two road courses on this year's postseason calendar.