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The NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway was very successful, as the tire wear and extra horsepower elevated the on-track product. This was a positive development for NASCAR drivers, including Denny Hamlin, who came home with a fifth-place finish at Phoenix. Now, Hamlin is predicting that another track could feature even more tire wear and craziness.
On his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin gave a prediction on the Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway next week. If the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's prediction is correct, Darlington could be a true "wild card" event.
“It's going to be a small incremental change," Hamlin said about the racing being better. "Again, the small change, what was the racing truly better this time around? Was it 10% maybe? I mean 15%, but it's something. And so I think you'll see that same change at other racetracks. One thing I will tell you is that heads up on [Darlington Raceway], you want to see some cars out of control here in a few weeks."
"These cars with essentially little to no underbody, because we're now going to the short track aerodynamic package for Darlington. These cars are out of control. And so we are going to be…I'm predicting four seconds of fall off. It might be more. It's just the cars with the underbody taken off and that simple diffuser, just even on new tires, just absolutely out of control. So it's going to be a wild card race.”
If NASCAR has four-plus seconds of tire fall off at Darlington, it will be a crazy event that focuses on managing the Goodyear rubber. NASCAR had a very successful tire at Phoenix, but teams couldn't push the limits without risking a blown tire. Now, the crew chiefs better be on top of their game going to Darlington next weekend.
More: Christopher Bell discusses heartbreaking loss at Phoenix in March 2026
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Denny Hamlin predicts 'wild card' NASCAR race at Darlington in 2026
Continue reading...
On his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin gave a prediction on the Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway next week. If the Joe Gibbs Racing driver's prediction is correct, Darlington could be a true "wild card" event.
“It's going to be a small incremental change," Hamlin said about the racing being better. "Again, the small change, what was the racing truly better this time around? Was it 10% maybe? I mean 15%, but it's something. And so I think you'll see that same change at other racetracks. One thing I will tell you is that heads up on [Darlington Raceway], you want to see some cars out of control here in a few weeks."
"These cars with essentially little to no underbody, because we're now going to the short track aerodynamic package for Darlington. These cars are out of control. And so we are going to be…I'm predicting four seconds of fall off. It might be more. It's just the cars with the underbody taken off and that simple diffuser, just even on new tires, just absolutely out of control. So it's going to be a wild card race.”
If NASCAR has four-plus seconds of tire fall off at Darlington, it will be a crazy event that focuses on managing the Goodyear rubber. NASCAR had a very successful tire at Phoenix, but teams couldn't push the limits without risking a blown tire. Now, the crew chiefs better be on top of their game going to Darlington next weekend.
More: Christopher Bell discusses heartbreaking loss at Phoenix in March 2026
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Denny Hamlin predicts 'wild card' NASCAR race at Darlington in 2026
Continue reading...
