Denny Hamlin walked away from his sporadic NASCAR Xfinity Series starts after winning at Darlington Raceway in 2023. Now, however, he wants to make a brief return.
Hamlin announced that he wants to compete in a superspeedway race so that he can experience something other than what the Gen 7 car currently delivers.
"Man, I'll tell you one thing," Hamlin said on this week's episode of his "Actions Detrimental" podcast. "I used to think there was no way I'd sign up for superspeedway racing, but I would love, love, love -- Joe Gibbs, if you are listening to this, sign me up for an Xfinity superspeedway race.
"That is how racing used to be. That is how good we used to have it, and we just never knew it. These cars are moving around, you can create runs."
As Hamlin explained, the reason why the racing is "so good," in his opinion, is that the Xfinity cars have the bubble effect, where they push each other away with the air. They don't have to slam into other cars to make pushes like in the Cup Series.
Three drafting style/superspeedway races remain on this season's Xfinity schedule, so Hamlin would have options if he could put together a deal with Joe Gibbs Racing. Does he have a preferred destination?
The veteran driver said he would choose Daytona International Speedway. The track is skinnier than Talladega Superspeedway, but the runs are bigger. Hamlin said this is due to the walls at Daytona trapping the air.
Hamlin has a limited number of starts at superspeedways in the Xfinity Series -- he quickly moved to the Cup Series in 2006 after joining Joe Gibbs Racing.
Hamlin made three starts at Talladega Superspeedway and eight starts at Daytona International Speedway. This includes a win at Daytona in 2008 after Hamlin led 29 laps. He led a top five including Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, and Brad Keselowski.