Denny Hamlin: Talladega ‘Most Exciting Form Of Racing’ In The World

Drivers often complain that Talladega Superspeedway is a dangerous place where there isn’t any “real” racing. After all, the lottery ball nature of restrictor-plate racing means virtually anyone could win if they’re in the right place at the right time.

But when the drivers gripe about ‘Dega, Denny Hamlin has some advice for the fans: Don’t listen.

“As much as we get mad when we wreck and flip over and things like that during the course of the race, it’s the most exciting form of racing that there is anywhere in the world,” he said. “For us to be a part of it, it’s fun.

“I know every driver is having a good time out there. If they say they’re not, they’re definitely lying, I can assure you of that. We may not like the results at the end, but I can tell you that we’re having fun while we’re out there, at least.”

Asked about the high speeds that saw some cars post an average lap speed of more than 199 mph in practice, Hamlin said the cars weren’t going too fast.

If anything, he said, “I don’t think we’re running fast enough.”

The cars are simply that comfortable and easy to drive on the smooth Talladega surface.

But was Hamlin having fun last year when all the cars were running single-file?

“Yeah, it was fun – I got to catch up on some thoughts and things,” he said with a smile.

Drivers typically don’t feel an urgency for the first 160 or so laps at Talladega, but things get heated over the final 30. Because of that, Hamlin wondered aloud if there was something NASCAR could do to make a better race during the early-to-middle portions of the event.

Hamlin suggested making the race into segments. The top finisher would still get points for winning, but in order to get the maximum points, a driver would have to lead every 50-lap segment.

“So it’s going to force guys to want to lead the race through the whole race,” he said. “You’re going to have guys fighting and whatnot. You don’t want a crapshoot race to mean more than your other races anyway.”

In the meantime, his prediction on Sunday is for “one of the most competitive races...a lot of four-wide racing most of the day.”