“You continue to make this a game of chance”: Denny Hamlin’s thoughts on why NASCAR should not have superspeedway races in the playoffs

Veteran NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin has opened up about the recently announced 2024 Cup Series schedule. He voiced his opinion against the inclusion of the two drafting tracks in the playoffs next season.

The first two rounds of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule have undergone a major reshuffle. Darlington Raceway will no longer host the playoff opener, as it is scheduled to host the regular season finale. Taking its place will be Atlanta Motor Speedway, as the first drafting track alongside Talladega Superspeedway.

Denny Hamlin isn't happy about the addition of yet another drafting track in the playoffs. He reckons that in a bid to test the drivers, the organizers have turned the playoffs into a game of chance, rather than a game of skill.

"I don't like it, I think you continue to make this a game of chance," he said in a recent interview with Matt Weaver. "One of the common quotes that you will hear from leadership is that 'We like to test our drivers'. That's silly you are testing their luck, you're not testing their skill."

Hamlin continued:

"We like the cut the sample size smaller and smaller every single year and I think that this year with nearly having our regular season champion knocked out. Surely a year like next year should get the job done."

In the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin also argued that the next-gen cars don't allow a driver to show his prowess on the superspeedways. He confirmed that the elite speedway racers in the Cup Series shared a similar opinion.

Alongside Atlanta, Watkins Glen has also been added to the first round in the playoffs. As Denny Hamlin speculates, two superspeedways and two road course races packed within the first six races of the playoffs might provide a major upset next season.

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Denny Hamlin provides two solutions for NASCAR next-gen's short-track package

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule will also see the addition of the 0.8-mile Iowa Speedway as its newest track. However, Denny Hamlin isn't optimistic about the racing on the new track as he suggests the next-gen package will continue to struggle there.

“I don’t think it will be different than any other short track unless something changes,” Hamlin told Sportsnaut on Thursday. “Obviously, we’ve learned through testing that aerodynamics is not a factor on short tracks.

The next-gen cars are heavier than their predecessors and also have less horsepower. The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver suggests increasing the horsepower or grip as the only solution to combat the issues with the short-track package.

“It either has to come from grip or (power) to make those tracks better in the future.”

“We can fiddle with the car and aerodynamics until we spend all the millions of dollars in our pockets but it’s not going to change it until you change either the grip or the power under the hood,” Hamlin added.

Denny Hamlin added that he doesn't have any clue about what's coming down in the pipeline for the short-track package.