Since NASCAR brought about the Next Gen prototype in 2022, it’s not just the approach towards a race that has changed. Several drivers have had to change their driving styles and Denny Hamlin is one of them. But what has Hamlin been doing differently to win races with the new car? In a fun interactive session with Kevin Harvick, the JGR racer illuminated the biggest difference between his driving style before the usher of the NextGen machine and that of now.
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Previously, Hamlin used to have his feet both on the gas and the brake pedals at the same time. He was always known for playing around with the pedals, displaying the magic of his immaculate footwork. However, that active foot person in Hamlin is no more, as the JGR star now aims at spending as little time as possible with his foot on the brake.
“These cars…with having so much drag, so little horsepower, getting off the brake pedal,” he said. “I’m always just barely on that thing just trying to roll as much speed as I can but just really changing my style to be more momentum-based.” Therefore, Hamlin’s style now is switching between gears to just keep the momentum up.
Hamlin admits to having relieved himself in the middle of a race
Never once in his entire career had Hamlin felt the urge to run to the toilet while driving his Cup Series ride. But there’s a first time for everything. The Ambetter Health 400 was indeed a long race that lasted 260 laps, with 10 cautions throughout its course. Thus, many drivers, like Hamlin himself, felt the burn of the tiring event.
However, things started going southward for Hamlin with nature’s call at the most inappropriate moment. “For the first time in my whole career…19 years, peed my seat,” he said in an episode of his podcast. “I was hurting. I was so thirsty the second half of the race, but I couldn’t drink anymore because my body, I was just sitting there in my seat saying, ‘Let it go. Let it go.’ And I just couldn’t let it go.”
“And then as soon as I got the first dribble, boom,” Hamlin exclaimed. “It was warm, and then it was cold. I never felt what it felt like to pee in my seat. But I kinda liked it.” The way Hamlin narrated the incident was outright hilarious. Weirdly, he seemed to like the feeling of urinating in his firesuit.
Hamlin made it sound funny, but what’s shocking is that NASCAR drivers often have to go against the calls made by their bodies to complete their jobs. Indeed, it’s extremely difficult to pursue a career in NASCAR.
