Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 19, 2023) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to media after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series event at Watkins Glen International on Saturday:
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Why do you think you’ve been so strong at qualifying on road courses this year?
“I’m putting a lot of work in for sure to get better at them. I think the first step to getting better is you have to find a way to run fast for a lap and then you’ve got to figure out how to make it repetitive. So, I think this is part of the process that I talked about earlier in the year about getting better. We’re seeing progression on getting faster at road courses which is good. Then, it’s just up to me to do it for multiple laps.”
Is it because of a lot of simulator work?
“It is. It’s sim stuff and it’s really kind of breaking a lot of stuff down and really the teams that I work with, they’re the ones that help me get quite a bit better.”
How well does Watkins Glen suit you?
“It suits me well. I think it’s probably the least technical of all the road courses. Obviously, they call it the superspeedway of road courses. I think, like Tyler Reddick, his skillset on road courses doesn’t really play a huge benefit – the way he attacks them doesn’t really pay a huge dividend at this race track. I think you see more unconventional guys run up front here because it’s not quite as technical as the others. I just think that it’s pretty straight forward. I’ve got so many laps here that I certainly feel comfortable. And obviously my car today has got speed.”
Do you expect drivers to be more cautious in this race with it being so close to setting the Playoff field?
“It really depends on how many cautions we have. I think that if you have a bunch of cautions you typically can see something crazy, but you can’t win from the third row. So, it just kind of depends. I think it’s pretty straight forward. Qualifying was going to be big today. Setting the pace will be big. But, yeah, I think certainly races like last week is what we have when you don’t have stage cautions and understandably, I think that sometimes we get spoiled into thinking that a lot of road courses got so hyped in the day because you had so many green-white checkers and wacky stuff going on because of the late race cautions. When you really look at the race and when it goes green, I mean how wacky can it be from five car lengths back. You really can’t. It’s more of a storyline than it is on the race track. I don’t expect any surprises tomorrow.”
How much lower is your stress level knowing you’re locked into the Playoffs?
“I think really, we have a stress-free couple of weeks. Certainly, we need to watch our position with (William) Byron over the next couple weeks. With us getting the pole now and Martin (Truex Jr.) not making it, can we make that regular season championship a battle? Maybe, if we go out and score a bunch of points early. We’re still racing for something, but the biggest thing is more bonus points and there’s only a couple ways we can do it. And, that’s getting a win, getting stage wins and getting the regular season moving up one spot. That’s our goals. Like last week, it was the happiest 19th place finish ever because we got a stage win. It was like, we left the track with something that would go for the rest of the season. We’re going to try to do that again tomorrow.”
What are the odds of Bubba Wallace making the Playoffs and how important would it be to 23XI for him to make the Playoffs?
“I’m so caught up in the driving stuff today. I didn’t know where people behind him qualified – where they are at versus him. I just think that they just have to execute. They can’t look at whatever someone else is doing, who they’re racing. They just have to do the best that they possibly can and if they do that, I think they’ll have a good shot.”
Do you intend to be back at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024?
“I intend to for sure. It’s what I want, and I think it’s what Joe (Gibbs) wants. There’s just a lot of factors that are out of both mine and his hands. Again, if I didn’t own a team, I think this would be done by now, but there’s just a lot of different factors that play into it and whether we can get it done or not. All you hope is that this late in the season that everyone is putting their best foot forward to compromise and come up with the right deal that’s good for everyone.”
Is there a possibility something might change with Toyota?
“I’m not trying to insinuate anything for sure, but I think that I’m happy at Joe Gibbs Racing and Joe (Gibbs) is happy with me. I think that certainly with the Kyle (Busch) situation last year, Kyle’s ask was his ask. And Joe Gibbs needed sufficient funding on the car to do it. From the day one, to give you inside baseball, Joe said I could have zero sponsorship on your car. It doesn’t matter. We want you and this is what we’re going to do. It’s different in that sense. It’s easy to draw parallels because you hear I’m saying some things Kyle said and Joe is saying some very similar things, but there’s just more factors in play than just us for sure.”
Do you feel good about 23XI being with Toyota next year?
“We’re working on it. We certainly are very happy with Toyota. They’ve been great to me and helped me get this team off the ground. I’ve won the bulk of my races with their cars. I feel like it’s a partnership that should continue.”
How have you seen Bubba Wallace progress as a driver?
“We have an advantage that I am a driver and so we’re different than other organizations where I don’t want to step on any toes and overload them with hey this is what’s worked for me because they could easily rebut well that’s you and not me. But, if you have a recipe for what is being successful, you’re crazy not to look at it. I think it’s a benefit and really for that team over there they’ve got a third car because I’m very transparent. What I look at and what I feel like I’ve made improvements on. I think with Bubba (Wallace), I’m seeing improvements, but it takes a long time. Like I said, while the results have not shown it, I think I heard someone say we haven’t finished in the top-10 on a road course in the Next Gen and that’s just crazy. I didn’t think anyone was faster than us in the dry at Chicago. You didn’t see us because we were in the teens because I ran so terrible in the wet. We’re making progression and we’re really advancing, but sometimes you don’t see it because of all the other stuff and storylines going on. But internally, we know that we’re getting better, and I know Bubba is getting better because I’m seeing it. He’s putting in the work, he has the drive to be better and I’m happy with the progression that he’s making.”
What are your thoughts on the potential for changes to tires change during the Playoffs?
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Yes, it’s tougher on the teams because their notebook is not going to be exactly the same, but it’s going to be close enough. It really will be. It’s who can adapt. The best teams will show up and adapt quicker than others. If they think it’s a better tire, I applaud it. Never wait too long to make the right decision. If it truly is better, I don’t care if we test it or not, just put it on.”
Do you think there will be a new winner tomorrow and what have you advised Bubba to make the Playoffs?
“I certainly think they’re going to try and approach it that way. Daytona is a race where you just kind of budget for someone new winning and if they don’t, then you’re ahead of budget. You have to just plan on someone being there so from Bubba’s (Wallace) standpoint it’s probably not realistic for him to jump up in points to the next guy, so he probably sees that as he needs to win. However, you can’t throw that away making a crazy mistake. No one goes and wins here or Daytona and then you’ve blown the points lead that you’ve had over 17th. I think you still have to race smart and if you get unlucky, then you get unlucky. It’s not just about these two races. We run 26 races in the regular season, and they all are the same. So, race three meant just as much as this one. It just does. We’re talking about five points here, 10 points there. There’s opportunities. That’s why it’s so hard in the Cup Series because you have to be good the entire regular season and if you’re not you’re going to find yourself on the bubble most years.”
How do you capitalize on starting in front of Martin Truex Jr. to try and win the regular season championship?
“Win the stages and start from there. You just try to do everything you can to dictate the beginning of the race. If you do that then I think, we’ll be okay. I feel confident in the speed of my car so it’s up to me. It doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to do that. I still think in the top-10 there’s maybe seven better road course drivers overall putting all laps together – speed and all of that. But I think track position is the biggest factor over all of that. So, it’s up to me to make sure I execute the beginning of the race and set the tone from there. Have good pit stops, have good strategy and then let’s just see where we’re at. If we can have a shot at Martin (Truex Jr.) at Daytona, get this thing within a reasonable number, then I think the pressure shifts. While we do that, if we can hold serve with the 24 and keep them 40-some back from us then it lets me race freely at Daytona and go after stages and stuff like that and if we crash that doesn’t matter.”
How valuable is it from an owner’s perspective to have Bubba Wallace participate in the owner’s championship last year?
“Well, honestly, it’s not valuable to us because he’s out on the owners. It’s not valuable to us. It’s valuable to him. I think carrying the team last year in that 45 car through those last 10 races gave him some confidence in my mind that he can carry a team and be a leader of a team in a Playoff race. I hope that he makes it, I hope that we make it as well so he’s racing for the both of us. Either way, I’m going to be super happy for him if he gets in the Playoffs because I think he’s a good enough driver and I think he’s motivated enough to make noise.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 22 electrified options.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
