Hamiln makes unusual request during pit stop in – Sports News
Denny Hamlin could have emerged victorious Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway, nevertheless it wasn’t with out a meltdown over his NASCAR rival — and an unusual pit stop request in weird late-race second.
With simply over 70 laps remaining in the race, Hamlin got here to pit street on Lap 328 and radioed a shocking ask to his crew a cold bottle of water.
The request got here because the No. 11 staff scrambled by one other fast stop. At the time, Hamlin, who stated “all will be exposed” as 23XI Racing stays locked in an anti-trust lawsuit with NASCAR, was operating among the many leaders and battling high cockpit temperatures — the end result of a malfunctioning cooling system that was solely pumping scorching water by his drink line.
The three-time Daytona 500 winner was feeling the heat — actually.
Hamlin defined that his standard method doesn’t contain counting on a cool go well with, a specialised piece of gear designed to flow into cold water by the motive force’s fire-retardant clothes. But with temperatures hovering in the latter half of the race, he started to rethink that alternative.
“I considered, but I don’t know, I just don’t run them, don’t need them,” Hamlin stated. “And felt like, you know, now, I’m more wet—well, I mean, I sweat a little bit today — but overall, just want to feel fresh for these last 14 laps.”
That resolution proved fruitful. After a crimson flag for rain delayed the closing stretch with simply 14 laps to go, Hamlin held on by a number of restarts and a chaotic additional time end to secure his fourth win of the season.
The win didn’t come straightforward. Hamlin needed to maintain off a charging Chase Briscoe on the ultimate restart, with climate, cautions, and tire strategy all factoring into a wild conclusion.
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Pit street changes apart, Hamlin stayed locked in and managed the race’s closing sequence with poise. He additionally took full benefit of contact between different contenders late in Stage 3 — most notably a run-in between Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell — which shuffled the order and gave Hamlin clean air up entrance.
“It was tough,” Hamlin advised TNT. “Those guys gave me a run for it. To have back-to-back here over the last couple years is amazing.”
With this victory, Hamlin extends his robust 2025 marketing campaign, additional cementing his place close to the highest of the motive force standings. But the image of one of NASCAR’s most seasoned drivers asking for a easy bottle of cold water mid-race added a relatable, human second to a dominant efficiency.
On Sunday, it labored nicely enough to win.
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