"This was an earned win" - Denny Hamlin has a message for Alex Bowman’s doubters after Chicago win

Denny Hamlin recently supported Alex Bowman and his Chicago win. Speaking on the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin said that after Bowman's win in a race plagued by bad weather, there would be some 'negative people' who would deem the race win a fluke and as a product of strategy.

Bowman's win at Chicago turned out to be his first since March 2022, when he won at Las Vegas. And as per Hamlin, it was every bit deserved.

"Let me just clue you guys in, Alex Bowman, was hauling a** in practice as well as complete dry. He was going to be a part of the picture regardless of the conditions. I've raced with him last year at the track and I think spun him at Turn 11 and he was fast. He was one of the fastest cars last year and really didn't get to show it. I think he blew up. And then, this year, I think he had one of the fastest cars here in practice. Now, not the fastest, but I think there's a difference in having speed in practice and then having race craft to then go up and contend," Hamlin said. [55:00]

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver claimed the #48 driver was "very underrated" in the sense that not many considered him to be a potential winner ahead of the race. But based on what he saw in practice, Hamlin was convinced that Bowman had what it takes, as a driver and with his racecar, to go out there and score a good finish regardless of the conditions.

"I think it is very well deserved. Everyone has stories in their own race teams of races that could've slipped away from them. I don't know how many opportunities the #48 had, legitimate shots this season that they were a race winning car, none of them come to mind really quickly. But this was a earned win," Hamlin added [56:12].

He said that Alex Bowman had a great race, did what it took to win, and his crew chief Blake Harris too, did what he needed to get that result.

And because of all of these things, Denny Hamlin believed Alex Bowman deserved credit.

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Denny Hamlin on Tyler Reddick narrowly missing out on passing Alex Bowman for the lead at Chicago

Before Alex Bowman took the checkered flag to officially get the win at Chicago, he was being chased by Tyler Reddick in 2nd place. However, Reddick hit the wall coming off turn 6, which ended his chances of potentially catching and passing Bowman.

Reddick's boss, Denny Hamlin, addressed this subject on the Actions Detrimental podcast and said:

"It’s a bummer. I thought he was going to get there, especially as quickly as he was running him down. But yeah, fundamentals is the — to finish first, you must first finish and so I think it’s just he’s gonna be tough on himself, but he’s trying everything he can. He’s probably thinking at that point he’s got two more legitimate passing opportunities. He wasn’t gonna be close enough off of Turn 5 where he hit the wall to get him into Turn 6," Hamlin said about Reddick.

Denny Hamlin added that Reddick panicked on counting his passing opportunities and had he not hit the wall, it would've been a fight for the lead.

The #11 driver claimed that Bowman would've likely blocked Reddick and kept him on the wet part of the track. But with the pace Reddick had, he would've got there with a shot to pass the #48, which ultimately didn't work out.