An Unfiltered Sports Opinion by Roy J. Akers
Checkered Flags and Second Place is First Place Loser from Richmond
Richmond brought us to the quarter pole of the 2024 NASCAR season and both of NASCAR’s best went away without a win as Denny Hamlin stole a victory.
Checkered Flag
Denny Hamlin- Hamlin only led 17 laps at Richmond, but like any veteran, he knows when he has been given a second opportunity, even though improbable. “I needed that kind of situation at the end to happen to win it,” Hamlin said. That he did. Hamlin has won for the second time this season after his victory at Bristol just two weeks ago. He now sits in third place in points, just 18 points behind the very upset Martin Truex Jr. (More on that below) This is Hamlin’s 53 career win.
One Bump too Many
Kyle Larson took a bump from Bubba Wallace with less than two laps to go and a driver that led 144 laps on the night. Outside of Truex Jr. Larson was all in the top-five. The bump by Wallace making him loose was not his fault. It is part of racing. Larson said after the race he hoped Truex was not mad at him. Larson is second in Cup points for 2024 after winning the first stage. Larson had the racing acumem to take a short stroll through the grass and got a world class pitstop and took his racing position back. Here is Larson’s take on the late race caution.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Finished: 3rd
You got spun there towards the end and you came back for a third-place finish. What happened there?
“Just got spun there down the frontstretch. Thankfully, I didn’t get turned all the way around and I only lost one or two spots there. My pit crew did a great job all night to gain those couple of spots back on pit road for us to lineup fourth and get one spot out of it. Proud of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team. I’m really, really happy about the execution all night long. My pit crew kept putting us in position to have a shot to win, so can’t say much more.”
I’m Mad as Hell…
Martin Truex Jr. led 228 laps on the night leading multiple times, but a victory he would have had if the Larson spin would have happened a half lap later after the white flag had dropped was not to be. Truex earned 50 points on the night, the most of any driver including the race winner Denny Hamlin. With the leaders all pitting before starting overtime, Hamlin came out of the pits with the lead. Truex Jr. could not overtake Hamlin and got boxed in for the remaining lap. Martin rearended both Larson and Hamlin. He leads the series in points,but has yet to win in 2024.
“We got beat out of the pits and he jumped the restart,” Truex said of Hamlin. “Had a car capable of winning. So just have to come back next week trying to get him again.”
NASCAR said they reviewed the restart and it was within the rules.
Signs of life from…
Joey Logano has had a poor start to the 2024 season. Logano’s second place finish at Richmond is his best of the season. Multiple finishes in the back half of the field has put this former champion in a tough spot this season. Logano is currently 19th in the standings after Richmond. Here is his take on the overtime restart.
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – ANYTHING MORE YOU COULD HAVE DONE TO CATCHT THE 11? “Not once he cleared the 19. I had a chance. I didn’t get a good enough restart. I really wanted to pressure them down into one and force them to work up Truex, but I spun my tires there just trying to stay with them and that ultimately cost me to be close enough to do something. I don’t know. It feels good to be towards the front again. We haven’t had a run like that in a while, but it also stings to be that close and not capitalize on the win. I guess I have mixed emotions. We had a really good car, a car that was capable of winning if we were in the front, but we didn’t execute everywhere else good enough to get there.”
A NASCAR driver having a tough 2024 season
Kyle Busch is a future HOF inductee. My opinion is not radical. He is one of several racing today that will join him. But outside of Atlanta and Las Vegas, Busch is struggling. He rarely runs for long in the top-ten. Busch is still 13th in points, but he really has not got his Chevrolet rolling. He is too good to let this go on much longer. We shall see.
Here is the Playoff Picture after Richmond. Race Highlights follow on Fox
The drivers move onto Martinsville next week.