Denny Hamlin said the Enjoy Illinois 300 wasn’t a great race, but the ending that involved Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell was compelling. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin talked about Bell’s run at Blaney at the end of the race before falling off due to tire and engine issues.
“It was shaping up to be a good battle,” Hamlin said, “but you don’t know in the end how close [Bell] was really going to get to Blaney just because Blaney was going to be able to air block.”
Hamlin went on to talk about Bell’s tires going “flat” during the race due to the “heat process the tire goes through.” Hamlin added, “When Christopher got to Blaney he had reached the peak heat, and he wasn’t going anywhere. It would have been a good battle. I think he would have stayed close in the picture, but I don’t know.”
It was reported that Bell was dealing with engine issues, and Hamlin admitted that was also something Bell had to battle. But Bell finished seventh because Martin Truex Jr., who was two laps down in the race, pushed him to earn a top-10 finish.
“That was awesome,” Bell said about Truex after the Enjoy Illinois 500. “He’s probably saved us a top 10 out of the day. Martin is a standup guy.”
Denny Hamlin has big expectations for Christopher Bell
Bell also talked about what happened to his car towards the end of the race. “I mean, I have no idea what happened. Some sort of motor issue, he said. “I’m surprised that I made it to the end. Glad we were able to salvage something out of it. You don’t get race cars like that very often. Whenever you do, you need to take advantage of it. Disappointing day.”
Hamlin seems to have high hopes for Bell who has won eight Cup Series races in his career. On the podcast, Hamlin revealed that Bell is afavorite to win the Cup Series title at the end of the season.
“When I saw he finished seventh, I was like ‘Oh wow,’” Hamlin said about Bell. “He limped it home, but I think the field was so spread out that moment. …Maybe he gained a second by [Martin] Truex pushing him down the straightaways but certainly was beneficial. He was still running really fast through the corners. “This is the second track in a row these mile flat tracks where [Bell] has really shown a lot of speed. If he can make it to Phoenix, he’s gonna be a threat.”
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