"Probably a disadvantage": Denny Hamlin touches on battling Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs for playoff spots at Bristol

At Bristol, Denny Hamlin would be hoping to get a good enough result to take him through to the next round of the playoffs. Hamlin's playoff campaign has gotten to a shaky start with less-than-ideal results at Atlanta and Watkins Glen.

Following a 24th-place finish at Atlanta and a 23rd-place finish at Watkins Glen, Hamlin is currently ranked 13th on the playoff standings at -6.

And in a situation that could get complicated for the #11 driver, he would be battling not only the other drivers but also his own teammates in Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs. Both JGR drivers, Truex and Gibbs, hope to make it to the Round of 12, currently ranked 15th and 12th respectively, with Hamlin sitting in between the two.

Because of this, Denny Hamlin was asked ahead of Bristol whether he sees racing against Gibbs and Truex Jr. as an advantage or a disadvantage, to which he said:

"I’m not really sure. Probably a disadvantage because we have had success here and they know what we had in our car to make it work so well, things like that. If they were with a different team, maybe you get your competition panicking or guessing – okay, we don’t have enough pace – we need to wholesale our car and then you end up missing it big, but still, I think it is still so tight, I think it is just going to be who outruns who."

Hamlin hoped that things work out in his favor. But if they didn't, the #11 driver said that they have enough team cars who can all make it to the next round and as per the odds, they are bound to get more than one.

Denny Hamlin lays out his strategy for Bristol straight

Following his 24th-place finish at Atlanta, Denny Hamlin opened up on his strategy to get maximum points. The veteran was slammed by several NASCAR insiders like Kyle Petty, Kevin Harvick, Brett Griffin, and more for his unique plan.

For the elimination race at Bristol, Hamlin's priorities and what he wants out of the race are pretty straightforward.

"I’m coming here to win. That strategy won’t change unless the situation changes during the race," Hamlin said.

He further pointed to the importance of qualifying at Bristol, claiming that not qualifying well isn't the end of one's chances of winning. Having said that, Hamlin emphasized that regardless of the qualifying result, he would be on the offensive from the first second of the race.

He added that over the 500 laps at Bristol, things would work out in his favor and he would have a shot to win, just as he did in the last two races at the short track.