NASCAR CUP SERIES: COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500

September 4, 2022

Denny Hamlin

Pit Lane Interview

Q. That was such a close race in the last couple laps. Is there anything different you could have done in Turns 3 and 4 to get by the 43?

DENNY HAMLIN: Not without contact. Last night in Xfinity there was like two and a half seconds of falloff in the last 15-lap run, and I think it was about a second for us in a 15-lap run. So the speeds are so fast, and so much on throttle time, it's an error game.

Erik just did a really great job.

I've got to thank Gordon from SportClips. Sorry I couldn't run the Xfinity race yesterday, but just proud to always carry these SportClips colors here in Darlington. Man, just a great day for Erik, great day for our team.

Q. How worried were you when you saw those issues for your teammates?

DENNY HAMLIN: I mean, we can't come in and change the engine. Nothing we're going to do about it. We're never going to give up track position to fix something even if it's obvious anyway. That late in the race, I just looked at it, said it was a tough one for those guys. Obviously it's a bummer, but there's nothing I'm going to change in the car, so I just concentrate on doing the best I can driving.