Denny Hamlin called his rear camera failure “sketchy” after the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver explained how losing the rear-facing camera made it harder to judge traffic behind his car during the high-speed NASCAR race.
Hamlin compared the problem to “playing ping pong with one bandage over one eye,” saying he could see what was ahead but lost a key view behind him. The issue came during a NASCAR race that also featured a new lower-downforce superspeedway package.
Hamlin said he was happy with the changes NASCAR made at Daytona, but he also pointed to the stage format as an area NASCAR could change. Despite starting deep in the field, Hamlin finished 11th, won the regular-season championship and earned the top playoff seed.
Denny Hamlin Says NASCAR Rear Camera Failure Was ‘Sketchy’
Denny Hamlin said the NASCAR rear camera has become an important part of how drivers race on superspeedways. The rear-facing camera gives drivers another way to monitor cars behind them when they consider changing lanes or reacting to a run.
“It’s sketchy,” Hamlin said. “I mean, it’s like playing ping pong with one bandage over one eye. You know, I got one eye looking forward, but I ain’t got the one that goes backward.”
Hamlin said drivers have relied on the technology since the Next Gen car arrived. Without it, he had to return to methods used before the NASCAR Next Gen era.
“And so it was just our brains have been trained over the last five years or so of this Next Gen car that, you know, we rely on it,” he said. “That’s how I, you know, decide what lane I want to switch to on these speedways.”
NASCAR Daytona Race Raises Questions About Stages
The NASCAR Daytona race also tested a lower-downforce superspeedway package. Hamlin said he was pleased with the NASCAR changes and hoped they would continue.
“I was overall happy with the changes that NASCAR made, and hopefully this is the direction we go,” Hamlin said.
However, Hamlin said the stage format affected how the race developed. He suggested moving the first stage from 35 laps to about 45 laps while cutting five laps from the later stages.
“And, you know, if you can push the first stage back a little bit from lap 35 to, like, lap 45 and then get those other stages five laps less, you’re going to have people racing all out the entire race,” he said.
Hamlin also said he did not expect much fuel saving among the drivers running near the front.
“So I think that that’s going to be the key going forward is getting the stages right to match it,” Hamlin said. “I just didn’t think there was a lot of fuel saving for the guys that were racing up front.”
Denny Hamlin Wins Regular-Season NASCAR Championship
Denny Hamlin finished 11th at Daytona after starting deep in the field. The result secured the regular-season championship and gave him the top playoff seed.
Hamlin also thanked fans who gave him a homemade regular-season championship trophy.
“My fans were awesome,” he said. “I mean, I’m going to display it. NASCAR won’t give me one. At least the fans did.”
He said he did not know whether the trophy was 3D-printed or made from wood.
“It’s not the same as having your own. And so I appreciate my fans kind of making one. I don’t know if it’s 3D-printed or out of wood or whatever, but they did a great job. Thank you, guys.”
NASCAR Cup Series Driver Raises Concern After ‘Sketchy’ Daytona Issue