The competition of the NASCAR Cup Series at Iowa Speedway comes with an unexpected twist. Denny Hamlin, driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, will start the race at the back of the grid due to a change in the cooling unit of his car number 11, made just before the start.
Besides Hamlin, other drivers such as Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott will also be forced to start the race from behind, after suffering accidents during qualifying and practice sessions. The situation is complicated for Hamlin, who, along with his teammate Chase Briscoe, experienced brake problems during Saturday’s session. All three vehicles from 23XI Racing have also faced difficulties of varying degrees.
Chris Gayle, Hamlin’s crew chief, has expressed that there is a 50% chance that the planned changes will allow the driver to compete effectively until the end of the race. Otherwise, Hamlin will have to return to the garage for further adjustments.
The situation is particularly critical for Chase Briscoe, who has described his brakes as ‘destroyed’. It is worth noting that NASCAR does not allow the exchange of brake pads unless the manufacturer, PFC Brakes, notifies a defect, which has not occurred at this time.
Decisions regarding vehicle adjustments come from the data generated by the technical alliance between JGR and 23XI Racing. Each team must make its own decisions about what aggressiveness to apply in its adjustments, a fact that could influence their results going into the upcoming June rankings for the Chase.
From 23XI’s perspective, Riley Herbst’s situation is the most challenging heading into the race, while Bubba Wallace’s team feels confident about competing at a good level. Tyler Reddick seems to be the one best prepared to tackle the race in a typical manner.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_9d04705ebba2e6fa6e843d2f2d43d717ec985122