Toyota Racing – Denny Hamlin
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (November 2, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx One Rate Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is it difficult to not think about the points you lost for the engine penalty?
“It’s a factor, certainly at this point, but nothing you can do about it. You have to race where the ball lies, so we have to go here and win, so that is what we will try to do.”
Do you want to know tomorrow about where you sit in the points?
“No, not really – especially in the spot that we are in. I think that it is all straight forward. I don’t think that – unless someone stubs their toe, I just don’t think that there is an opportunity to gain that many points. There is – some strategies can get flipped on restarts and things like that, so you never know, but for the last handful of races, I have not wanted to know anything about the points – just let me get the best finish that I can, and that is what we will do this week.”
How neat is it to see the growth of 23XI, with Tyler being in the Championship 4?
“Certainly, from the standpoint of where we are at – this is the fourth year for the 23 car. This is the third year for the 45 car. It is a fantastic accomplishment by them to be in the position that they are and I’m proud of the effort that I’ve put in to that team to help them get to where they are at. It is gratifying, and certainly, more of a long-term play for me to be part of the sport long after I’m driving and still have the competitive juices flowing on how I can feel competitive watching a NASCAR race on Sunday, and that is rooting on the team that I own. I’m still a fan of theirs on Sundays – if I don’t get a win, I’m certainly rooting for them. It is awesome to see that they are going to be racing for a championship, and I think having a great shot at it.”
How do you expect the tires to react today and do you think you can take things from practice today to tomorrow?
“I do. I think with all of the cars on track today, and especially for an extended period of time, I think the track will get rubbered in, very similar to what it will be like tomorrow, so I do think it will be a valuable practice session from that standpoint – something that, usually you are trying to offset – here we are Saturday morning, there is not as much rubber on the track, conditions will be different tomorrow, but I think overall, this will be about the best 45 minutes straight that we can have to draw conclusions, but typically what happens in extended practice like this is the field gets closer together, usually starts out pretty dispersed and then everyone gets to essentially the same speed. You better qualify well.”
What did you think about the Truck Series finish?
“I thought that certainly, the 17 (Taylor Gray) did a great job putting himself in position to win. The 19 (Christian Eckes) didn’t want to give up the win. Sometimes you play that game of – you want to win, but you don’t want to have anyone drive you hard the following week win you are trying to win a championship, but you can’t fault them for thinking the win in that given moment was the most important thing. Certainly, from what we’ve seen in the past, I thought it was relatively tame compared to – we’ve seen some crashes, and he certainly moved the guy out of the way and didn’t give him an opportunity to make the corner, but that was a decision that he made and he probably feels okay with it.”
Do we have a system that is unfair to drivers that want to have a recourse when they’ve been wronged?
“Yeah, it is certainly a balance. I’m probably the worst person you can ask for that because I retaliated and got penalized. It is a self-policing sport until it is not. It is very difficult to know when is the right time because you would think you could just do it on the race track and those words self-policing have been used for decades and decades and still used today, NASCAR never wants to get in the middle of officiating contact, although they do at times, but then you open yourself up to what is too blatant and that is a very murky line.”
If the tires aren’t the answer this weekend, what is the answer?
“I’m not really sure, short, again, giving the horsepower back that the cars had a couple of years ago. That would be a good first step – I don’t know. I think Goodyear had a softer version than this, and they said they couldn’t manufacture it very well in their facilities. Their racing manufacturing facility is far different than their street tire manufacturing facility, so maybe need to explore how we can make that process better.”
How long did it take you to get over Sunday night? Was it harder than getting over Phoenix in 2010?
“I guess it felt somewhat similar, in the moment, but truthfully, when you said what happened last week, for like five seconds, I had forgotten about last week. Truthfully. I feel as though, like last year, I just let it linger throughout the week. It had me down – I just turn the page pretty quickly after a race, because I know I can’t change that result no matter how much I really, really want to. I will learn from it. I feel like replaying things – what could have I done differently. I will always be able to do that, but at some point during the week, and it is Monday night, into to Tuesday, I turn the page, and I’m done with last week and it’s time to focus on the next task at hand to get me to the goal I want.”
Has that come with maturity that you are able to turn the page or because you have so much going on?
“That is probably factual. In the sense, that there is just more going off the race track, running the race team and the processes that me and Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) have preparing for races. All of that is very different than it used to be. It makes it harder to dwell on something, and certainly, way less productive to do that.”
What has Michael Jordan brought to the team to make you better as a team?
“I think there has been one specific competition meeting that he said he wanted to participate in. He listened to it and listened to it, and at the end, he gave his opinion on what he heard, and he didn’t like what he heard and he gave some pointed remarks on what championship teams sound like and what winning teams sound like and how we need to change the way we are communicating and the way we are shifting blame all over the place. That was kind of a pivotal moment for our team and our drivers to hear and taking responsibility for each person’s shortcomings and how you are going to get better, and that was a big moment in shifting our team’s mentality.”
When was this?
“It was last year.”
Has the point system evolved so many times that you know you have to win in the situation you are in versus looking at points in the past?
“A lot of it is when you look at how manufacturer teammates have changed the game. It has become easier for those who are fighting for something really big to make their way to the front because they’ve got more teammates in play and everyone is trying to help everyone out, so they find their way there. Most of it is all authentic, but some of it is – they get help, so certainly you don’t have to fight the same guys that you do week-in and week-out. I think you have to – especially when you look at the group that is below, and even the group that is right above. It is probably your six best at this race track. You just have to figure someone is going to setup and win – and you just hope that it’s you. You do everything you can to make sure that it is you.”
Do you believe that you have to win here at some point with Chris Gabehart with all of the success you have had here in the past?
“I mean – nothing from the past is guaranteed in the future, but yeah, I like that the fall race, it seems like, everyone brings their best, and we have had some unfortunate circumstances at the end of the races here that have kept us out of victory lane. Those are – that is just part of it. You just hope that the law of averages work themselves out. It is like anything with data and analytics, one at-bat – anything can happen. You just never know. You just hope you are on the good end of fortune, right? Or at least not have bad fortune, and if we don’t have bad fortune, I think we can compete and compete for a win.”
What is your reaction to see how Michael Jordan celebrates the wins with 23XI?
“The racing side of it brings out more emotion and passion than I’ve seen outside of his own career in sport. I’ve seen him on golf courses; I’ve seen him play cards, things like that – I’ve seen all of that, but nothing matches the emotion that winning a NASCAR race has shown in him. I think he’s spoke quite a bit about how this fills his cup – this fills his competition cup that he has been missing for such a long time. That’s good for everyone and certainly, great for our team to have Michael (Jordan) support them the way that he has.”
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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s 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 30 electrified options.
