Denny Hamlin: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made 'the right call' staying out during late caution

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his No. 47 team made a fascinating call under caution to stay out instead of pitting, and Denny Hamlin believes it directly contributed to their top-five finish at Iowa Speedway.

Prior to the end of Stage 2, Stenhouse Jr. decided to stay out instead of topping off for some fuel like many in the field, which in-turn took away the wave-around for a myriad of cars. Then, Stenhouse Jr. was able to hold his own at the front, pit with the leaders and remain up front for the rest of the night.

On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin explained why Stenhouse Jr.’s strategy worked soundly for the No. 47 team, and how it provided them the momentum and track-position they needed to capture a top-five that could change their season around moving forward.

“It was the right call, because there were only a certain amount of laps left before the end of Stage 2,” Hamlin proclaimed, regarding the No. 47 team’s strategy. “So he knew he was going to pit at the end of Stage 2 anyway, so as long as he didn’t need to get fuel, they made a brilliant call, which was just stay out on the race track. So all of those cars that were getting wave-arounds, or thinking they were going to get a wave-around, they didn’t get it. So I thought that, what the does, is it kind of guarantees you, kind of a better finish, no matter how the rest of your day goes, because you’re now trapping all of those cars that pitted a lap or two down for the rest of the race, because you choose to stay out versus pitting.

“So I thought I was a great call, and certainly guaranteed Ricky and his team a better finish throughout the day, no matter now the rest of the race went, or how their car migrated over the course of the rest of the day. So, he still finished top-five anyway. I think that track-position really, really helped, quite a bit, but yeah, fantastic call, to say, ‘Alright, you guys that pitted, normally you would get a wave-around here, but not today. Not today.'”

Sometimes when you’re a single-car team, those are the calls you need to make to capture a top-five finish. It’s not always going to work out, but for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 47 crew at Iowa Speedway, their strategy passed with flying colors on Sunday evening. It’s Denny Hamlin approved.