Kyle Petty was left completely baffled by some comments Denny Hamlin made after Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart Race in Atlanta.
Hamlin finished 24th in the race after starting 38th. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing got caught in a crash at the end of the race as Joey Logano crossed the finish line to win in overtime.
JOEY LOGANO WINS AS DENNY HAMLIN AND OTHERS CRASH BEHIND HIM AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY! pic.twitter.com/5D5UduJNGH
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 8, 2024
Hamlin’s strategy was to hang in the back and try to avoid crashes all race, yet the irony is he got caught in a crash at the end.
“I was trying to get 20 points out of the day. That was my goal. Just to get 20, however we could. Obviously starting from the back didn’t help with that, but still, we did the best we could. And got in a wreck that cost us probably 8-10 spots or so,” Hamlin said in his post-race interview with NBC.
Hamlin said he wanted to lay in the back most of the race and shoot for “20 points any way possible,” though he came up short.
The strategy left Petty baffled.
Petty, who won 8 races as a driver in the Cup Series and is now an analyst for NBC, took issue with Hamlin’s plan.
“Who goes into the playoff saying ‘I want to get 20 points in the first race’?” Petty asked rhetorically.
“I’ve never heard anything like that in all the history of when we’ve had playoffs. … I’m more confused now than I was before I heard him speak.”
kyle petty is not wrong here. i don’t get the hate for him simply speaking the truth. the hamlin strategy was baffling. https://t.co/aJ6QIpAeZs
— eric 🥥🌴 (@eric_gambrel) September 8, 2024
Hamlin was released from the infield care center after his crash and did not collect any playoff points in the race. Hamlin has 54 career wins in the Cup Series, but he hasn’t won a championship yet.
