Denny Hamlin addresses whether he would compete in Indy 500

Denny Hamlin is one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ 15 winningest drivers and has claimed victory in just about every big race the circuit has to offer.

Having nearly mastered stock racing, only chasing the elusive Cup Series championship, many have wondered if Hamlin would ever venture into the IndyCar Series — specifically the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). The 42-year-old provided the answer during a recent episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast.

“I probably wouldn’t,” Hamlin said. “I’m smart enough to appreciate the skill level of any professional in their profession. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a golfer or a basketball player or a race car driver — I respect that that is what you grew up doing. I respect that you are an elite talent in that profession, because you spent your whole life doing it and you got to this level because you’re very very good. And I would probably go to Indy and look silly.”

Hamlin later complimented the type of racing that takes place in the Indy 500 before offering a solution for the Cup Series to bring back the Brickyard 400. NASCAR has done away with the Brickyard 400 in recent years in favor of a road course at IMS.

Denny Hamlin has a solution to bring back Brickyard 400

“I think the type of racing they have at the Indy 500 fits kind of the drafting and strategy-type racing where — what makes IndyCar racing more exciting than stock car is the draft is big and they’re able to hold their throttle down through the corners quite a bit more than us. If they would just slow our cars down at the Brickyard [400] a little bit in the corners, the draft would be huge and you would see crazy exchanges and passes down the straightaway.

“… Literally if you just went slightly softer tire, actually put a taller blade on the car, cut 50 to 100 horsepower out… the slingshot passes you would see on the straightaway would be crazy. But we’re so grip limited in the corners that we lose so much time in the corners, it takes us the whole straightaway just to get back to the person, and then we lose it all again. So, it’s just a yo-yo effect.”

The 107th running of the Indy 500 gets underway this Sunday at 12:45 p.m. ET on NBC.