Denny Hamlin calls for repaving of North Wilkesboro after All-Star Race

Denny Hamlin is calling for a repaving of the revived North Wilkesboro Speedway following Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race.

Hamlin called North Wilkesboro a “one-lane track,” crediting that as to why it was tough for cars to pass over the course of the 200-lap event.

“The top three were the ones that pitted for tires,” Hamlin said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast Monday. “They drove to the front because they had new tires on Lap 16 and they never looked back. It was that difficult to pass because of the tires, and it was difficult to pass because that track, you know, unfortunately is a one-lane track. I mean, I heard Chase Briscoe talk about it — that the second lane was non-existent. You couldn’t even try to battle someone on the outside.

“That’s why I think it needs to get repaved because our cars don’t race as well on single file tracks. That’s just a fact, they don’t. And especially if it’s a short track. So, I encourage the staff, Marcus Smith to repave it, but get the drivers feedback on the repaving. I think that they could do some things with the asphalt.”

Kyle Larson dominates All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro

Much of the race was dominated by Kyle Larson, who led 145 laps en route to picking up the All-Star Race victory and pocketing the $1 million purse. Larson is the first driver in Cup Series history to win the event at three different tracks — Charlotte Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro. The latter hosted its first NASCAR event since 1996.

Larson described his win as an “old-school ass whooping.”

“I can’t even tell you what it means,” Larson said after the race. “This is my third All-Star win at my third different track at a historical place like this. You guys in the crowd made this weekend so awesome. We could feel the atmosphere all weekend. So much fun there. That was an old-school ass whooping for sure.

“We had a great car on the long run there and was just thinking for sure there was going to be a caution. I got out to a big lead and I could see everybody’s cars were driving like crap in front of me, but I cannot thank this 5 team enough. We were God-awful all weekend. Practice I was like the worst on 30-lap average, went backwards in a heat race yesterday. You obviously had some strategy work out there in the beginning, but we drove from dead last to the lead and checked out by 12 or 13 seconds. Then just could pace myself there that last run.”