"They're the worst car by far" - Denny Hamlin complains about "horrendous" Next Gen car's poor performance in traffic

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin has criticized the Next Gen car's lackluster ability to maneuver through traffic after coming home with his second Cup Series win of the season.

The Toyota Owners 400 marked the seventh Cup Series dash on the 2024 calendar and witnessed a dramatic turnaround in domination. After the late race wreck by Bubba Wallace on Kyle Larson resulted in a yellow flag, the lead enjoyed by Hamlin's teammate Martin Truex Jr. was disrupted after the pitstop under caution.

Furthermore, during the final restart, a jumpstart by the #11 Toyota driver gave just enough kick to dominate the 407-lap race until the checkered flag dropped. With two wins, two top-5s, and three top-10s, Denny Hamlin currently sits at P3 in the rankings, whereas MTJ still tops the chart with a margin of 18 points over the Florida native's 252 points.

Speaking of the subpar display of Next Gen cars on the 0.75-mile short oval, Hamlin, during the Actions Detrimental podcast, revealed the struggle while overtaking at Richmond Raceway. He said (37:56):

"On racetracks that have one groove or one and a half groove, it just does not race well. The only way it races well is one mile and a half. You can go somewhere else, you can run a different line than someone else to get clean air."

The Florida native added:

"These cars are horrendous. They're the worst car by far in traffic than what we've ever had. We have tires are that pretty damn hard."

Denny Hamlin admits to having "jumped the start" at Richmond race

With just two laps left, Bubba Wallace's wreck issued the final caution of the weekend and saw the majority of the pack pitting under caution to adorn a fresh set of compounds. Hamlin entered the pits in third position but Joe Gibbs Racing's smooth operation wrapped up #11 Toyota's deal in just 8.99 seconds, whereas Truex Jr.'s pitstop took 10.29 seconds.

As a result, Denny Hamlin exited as leader and Truex Jr. in second. However, moments before the green flag for the final restart was issued, the 43-year-old jumpstarted his car, gaining an advantage over the likes of Joey Logano in P2, Kyle Larson in P3, and his teammate in P4.

The 53x Cup Series race winner's move was condemned not just by fans, but also by his own teammate. Nonetheless, Denny Hamlin used April Fools Day to retaliate, confessing to having "jumped the start." (via X):

"After much consideration, talks with the team and dissecting the SMT data, it is clear that I jumped the start. Because of that, I've decided to do the right thing and... wish you a happy April Fools Day!"