Tue Sep 10 00:08:00 UTC 2024: ## Denny Hamlin’s Risky Atlanta Strategy Backfires, Leaving Him Two Points Above Playoff Cutline
**Atlanta, GA -** NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s unconventional strategy at the Atlanta Motor Speedway has left him in a precarious position, just two points above the playoff cutline. Hamlin, known for his aggressive driving style, opted to run near the back of the pack throughout the race, aiming to avoid the inevitable crashes and secure a respectable 20 points.
However, his plan backfired, leaving him with only 13 points and finishing in 24th place. His approach bewildered fellow NASCAR driver and commentator Kyle Petty, who questioned the logic behind such a strategy.
“Who goes into the playoffs saying I want to get 20 points in the first race?” Petty said during the post-race show. “I’ve never heard anything like that in all the history of when we’ve had the playoffs. ‘I just want to get 20 points, I’m going to ride back here’.”
Hamlin defended his strategy on the “Actions Detrimental” podcast, arguing that his focus was on the upcoming races at Watkins Glen and Bristol, where tire management and track conditions would be crucial.
“I think teams are smarter now than they used to be, and certainly, not saying that this was the right strategy, but it was the one that I wanted to employ on the day,” Hamlin explained. “If 20 points – I don’t know the last time I scored 20 points on a superspeedway race. It’s been so long.”
He continued, “I feel like the next two tracks, tires are gonna be a big thing. At Watkins Glen, we’ve got a new tire that’s got seconds of fall off apparently, and if that’s the case, then you could be on the good end or the bad end of that. Then you got Bristol; we don’t know whether we’re gonna have a race like the spring or a race like the fall. Either way, we won those two races. So, again, if I can just hold myself above water going to Bristol, I feel very confident we’re gonna go out there and perform well.”
Despite Hamlin’s confidence in his long-term strategy, the risks involved in his Atlanta plan were evident. The crashes he anticipated did not occur until overtime, when he was caught up in one and lost further positions.
Hamlin now faces a tight race to stay in the playoff contention. “I feel okay, feel okay about it. The biggest thing about the rounds is I was trying not to finish 20th or worse at any of these tracks,” Hamlin said after the race. “We do that, then we’re going to be fine. I don’t even know where we finished, but obviously we gotta go the next couple of weeks and perform good.”
First Piper 