Denny Hamlin watched in awe as Christopher Bell dominated the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on wet weather tires after the race resumed following a red flag.
When the green flag returned to Loudon, Bell was easily the man to beat, and the No. 20 held on for his third victory of 2024, matching Hamlin’s total. Afterwards, Hamlin explained what it was like watching Bell take the field to task, while the No. 11 wheelman tried to imitate Bell’s driving to no avail.
“It seemed like, when I watched Bell for instance, when he took off, right after the wet weather and gained like five spots in the first corner, I ran that same line he ran, and I nearly knocked the fence down,” Hamlin said, via the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast. I mean, the same — to the foot, right where he was, and my car took off dead straight. Would not go. It just would not turn left.
“So, there’s just some setup differences that happen where you know, sometimes — and really, you did see some cars that were not really good in the dry all of a sudden be good in the wet. It could’ve accommodated their setup a little better than others.”
At the least, Denny Hamlin was happy for Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole, with Christopher Bell securing another win for the organization in Loudon. Still, the veteran wheelman is hoping he’s able to match Bell’s prowess the next time the Cup Series has to run on wet weather tires.
Denny Hamlin names the four NASCAR drivers best at racing in wet weather conditions
Denny Hamlin believes a handful of wheelmen stand above the rest when it comes to racing in wet weather conditions.
While it was Christopher Bell who performed the best, ending up victorious when the checkered flag waved, Hamlin believes there’s a couple drivers who have shown they have what it takes to win when the damp weather rolls through the race track.
“I mean, I think that — you know, you’ve got [Kyle] Larson, [Chase] Briscoe has been good in these types of conditions. CBell (Christopher Bell) comes to mind. Chase Elliott, although I’m surprised he didn’t run better. I don’t know if he had any damage or not. I just, you know, recall the race at COTA that they were having in the wet weather. Those are the ones that immediately draw my eye,” Hamlin said, regarding which drivers excel in wet-weather conditions, via the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast. “I’m sure there’s others, but it seems like those are always, constantly the cars the drive to the front, when there’s these types of conditions.
“You know, we saw for quite some time, the top ten during the wet weather was a lot different than what the top ten was when we were in the dry. So it’s just, some people, it fits their style, and they can make it work.”
As NASCAR looks to keep races rolling during wet weather conditions, it’s easy to see why Denny Hamlin has singled out Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott as the guys to beat when the rain comes to town.
We’ll see if they can continue strutting their stuff the next time Mother Nature surprises the Cup Series.
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