Denny Hamlin: Kansas is a top-3 track for the Next Gen car in NASCAR Cup Series
After this past Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, Denny Hamlin is ready to anoint Kansas Speedway as arguably the best racetrack for the Next Gen car.
Speaking on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin called Kansas a “fantastic race from beginning to end.”
“This track just sets up perfectly for the car,” Hamlin said. “I mentioned it after the race that the combination of it all — we have lower horsepower, so we have to run the top for momentum. But there’s opportunities at this racetrack for you to run lower, cut distance off, slide up in front of somebody and then you’re not gonna have a good run off the corner and then they’re gonna re-pass you on the straightaway.
“If you were to design a mile and a half nowadays, it would be like give me whatever Kansas has got. Now, you’d have to be able to match the surface with it, but it just was a fantastic race from beginning to end.”
Kyle Petty: Kansas ‘may be the greatest race we’ve seen yet’ on intermediate track
Kyle Larson edged out Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds for the win in what is now the closest finish in the history of NASCAR. Beyond the finish, Sunday’s race featured side-by-side racing throughout each stage. At one point, they were five-wide coming through the front straightaway. And of course, who could forget Larson and Ross Chastain’s battle for the lead during Stage 1.
“Is the best track for racing? It’s certainly in the top-3,” Hamlin said. “It’s hard to argue that, maybe it’s top-2. We got some other really great tracks as far as racing’s concerned but yeah, I guess for the Next Gen car, it’s probably the perfect fit for that. Hard to argue no on that.”
Kyle Petty went as far to say that the race at Kansas was the best yet at an intermediate racetrack.
“Do you guys remember when intermediate racetracks were a bore? No, I don’t remember it either. Not since NASCAR came out with the Next Gen,” Petty said. “This car puts on amazing races on intermediate tracks. And yesterday may be the greatest race we’ve seen yet on an intermediate track.”