Denny Hamlin makes one request for Goodyear after Martinsville

Picking up his first Martinsville win in a decade, Denny Hamlin was a happy man after Sunday. He did have one nitpick for Goodyear. The NASCAR driver has been very happy with the tires this season but had a gripe to make.

Goodyear heard the calls the last two seasons and have answered. Whether it is introducing an option tire to short tracks or just giving a softer tire overall, things have improved lately.

Denny Hamlin won the race at Martinsville. He should have been very content with the tires, and for the most part, he was. On Actions Detrimental, he had to make one request.

“There’s a point where these tires do take a s**t, but it takes a long, long time,” Hamlin said. “If I had one request, right, from the Goodyear tires, which I think have been so much better this year, and we hate to nitpick it, but the light switch needs to go off a little bit sooner.

“Because the race runs just aren’t quite long enough. Like, it’s right when the lap times really start to deviate, is right when we pit, and it’s right when a caution comes out or the end of a stage, and it’s like, man you need that light switch to go off a little sooner, and then you’ll see some big variation in lap times which then creates tons of passing.”

What he is saying is that he wants the tire to fall off a little bit quicker. Make it so drivers either have to manage tires to get to the end of a run, or risk slipping and sliding around on burnt-up tires. There is enough fall off, but it isn’t happening fast enough.

We know that Denny Hamlin is the short-track guy in NASCAR. Tires are king at short tracks. So, he wants to be able to make these races tire management races and see where the cards end up. If it is a tire race, Hamlin knows that he is going to be in contention.

Going to Darlington this week, it is going to be more about being concise and consistent every lap. Much like Homestead, drivers will be right up against the wall and will be making contact with it all race long.

With a bit of momentum, Denny Hamlin is likely excited going into this weekend and the next at Bristol. Will he pick up another win or two this month?