When the 2024 Cup Series season began, a lot of people believed that the new Toyota Camry was not living up to the mark, and boy have they been proven wrong. The most successful driver in the car so far this season has been Denny Hamlin and ahead of the Kansas race, he was full of praise for the Japanese manufacturer. There still is an issue when it comes to superspeedway racing but overall, the new Camry seems to be a success as per the driver of the #11.
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“I thought that it adapted well. I’m really encouraged by what I’ve seen with the Toyota so far this year, it’s been good at all types of race tracks. Speedways has been the only one where we kind of qualified not well,” the Joe Gibbs Racing star said.
Hamlin’s three wins in 12 races matched his best start to the season since 2010 but you wouldn’t think that was possible given how less competitive the new Camry looked at the two superspeedway season opener races this year.
The JGR star’s comments certainly ooze confidence and perhaps it would not be a surprise to see a Toyota driver lifting the title at Phoenix in November. Had Denny Hamlin won at Kansas on Sunday, it would have been his best start to any Cup Series season.
Denny Hamlin needed an assist from Kyle Larson on overtime restart
The #11 car was leading the race when the green flag fell for the overtime restart and almost immediately Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson got past him. Then it was Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr’s turn, the latter exacting something of a payback for what happened at the Richmond Raceway earlier this year.
“Well, a difficult spot, right? I needed to get the push from the 5 (Kyle Larson), but I knew he wasn’t going to stay in line, that he was going to go for the win. Unfortunately, it left me in a spot where I was vulnerable there in the middle,” the 43-year-old said after the race as per a report in RACER.
Incidents like these probably don’t affect the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran as much as people might believe. He seems to be in the form of his life and he already has a place in the last 16. The goal right now is to prepare for the much-awaited playoffs later this year and hopefully win a race or two along the way.
