Denny Hamlin explains what happened when Gateway lost internet, SMT data

NASCAR endured multiple issues during last week’s trip to Gateway Motorsports Park for the Enjoy Illinois 300. At one point, teams lost access to SMT data because of an internet outage. While most fans probably understand why that’s so critical, driver Denny Hamlin explained just the significance of that data.

The outage occurred during lap 135 of Sunday’s race. It turned into an “old-school” race because of the loss of critical data, which teams use for pit strategy and more throughout the event.

Hamlin said drivers don’t experience much of a change, but teams can get pretty frantic.

“It doesn’t change it a lot for me but it definitely changes it for the teams,” Hamlin said during his Actions Detrimental podcast. “It changes it for the race teams a lot. So, when you’re making strategy calls … a lot of times it’s because you’re looking at the list of: who’s got tires? When’s the last time they pitted? How many tires did they take? How many laps on fuel can they go?

“And you take all that information and you put it in a pot and you stir it up and you say, ‘OK, here’s the best move for me.’ So, when you’re riding blind like that, you really don’t know who’s in front of you or what strategy they’re on. It won’t make your call as informed as it would normally.”

The loss of data wasn’t the only issue NASCAR ran into during the race. Lightning strikes brought out the red flag less than 10 laps into the event and FS1 viewers briefly lost access to the event, due to the problems at the track.

Will NASCAR enjoy a trouble-free Sunday at Sonoma?

NASCAR has endured some rough weeks recently. Two weeks ago, inclement weather put the entire weekend on hold while at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Last weekend, Internet issues and more weather troubles got in the way in St. Louis.

Drivers and fans alike would probably like to have a stress-free weekend of racing — at least in terms of delays.

This week, NASCAR heads to Sonoma Raceway for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET (fingers cross) and will air on FOX. Heading into Sunday’s Cup Series race, Bet MGM odds has Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick as the drivers most likely to take home the checkered flag.

Both drivers are listed at 9-2 odds to win the race. Chase Elliott owns 11-2 odds while William Byron has 17-2 odds. Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain are both listed at 9-1.