NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin revealed that Richmond Raceway produced some great racing last weekend on a short track that is otherwise difficult to pass on. He also praised the Goodyear tires that showed signs of wear and contributed to the exciting racing spectacle.
Hamlin stressed that the quality of racing at Richmond hadn’t been witnessed for many years, and thus, it was expected to be a “boring” race. However, the race impressed him greatly, leading him to give due credit to the tires for making such a big difference. Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin said:
“It was good to see a great short-track race. Some great tire fall-off. Thank you Goodyear, for bringing a tire that had over two to two-and-a-half seconds of fall-off. Fantastic. Richmond was kind of one of the very first short-tracks that was getting the, ‘Oh man, this is kind of boring’ type-feel, right? It’s good to see that the tires do matter.
“I think the fans on TV and in the stands, they got to see drivers make moves and pass. … I thought it was a good race. I can speak about this, because I participate in the race. I drive the cars. I know how difficult it is to pass during this race versus the previous, versus the previous, versus 10 years ago, versus 20 years ago. I know because I did it.”
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Bob’s Discount Furniture Toyota, walks the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on August 02, 2025 in Newton,…
Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Bob’s Discount Furniture Toyota, walks the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway on August 02, 2025 in Newton, Iowa.
More
Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Hamlin then compared the race to last year’s round, highlighting the vast difference between the two events, all because of the tires. He added:
“This was more like — I don’t wanna overstep here, but a Generation Five Cup car. After about 15, 20 laps, you could make passes on people. The speed started to separate enough to create the passes.
“When they had the harder tire last year, you had to sit behind somebody for 30 to 40 laps, and then hell, you’re going to be pitting in 15 laps. So, the window of passes was really, really small last year. If you look at the lines, the ranks and positions, everyone just is stagnant.”
He added:
“Then right before the pit, there’s some changing of positions, and then people start pitting. This one was more stagnant at the beginning to be expected. Everyone had a lot of grip, because the tires had a lot of grip. Then, all of a sudden, people start passing. It’s like, that’s what we wanted to see.”
The 44-year-old driver revealed that this tire could be made NASCAR’s official short-track tire, which would be a “good thing” for the sport. He said:
“That puts it back into the driver’s hands, and hopefully this is something that — this will be our Loudon tire, as well. Something to look forward to there. It seems like they’re trying to make this our standard short-track tire.
“I believe it’s the same as Martinsville. Now Richmond, Loudon. I’m sure there’s another in there. But we’ve softened up the tires. It’s really a good thing.”