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One bold call by crew chief Chris Gayle allowed Denny Hamlin to gain track position in Stage 1 of the Window World 450. That call also led to Hamlin irritating Carson Hocevar.
The call came on a Stage 1 caution, which saw most of the leaders pit for two tires. Hamlin and his JGR team generally prioritize tires at every opportunity. Sunday night, in that instance at North Wilkesboro, they chose track position.
And it led to Hamlin fighting off Carson Hocevar for multiple laps to finish fourth in the first stage. The result, other than irritating Hocevar, was a net gain of three positions to end the stage.
Frustrating Hocevar
“We wanted to stay aggressive with our track position, and it was a net gain for us,” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental. “It was a battle. I was doing everything I could to hold all the track position. I’m sure Carson Hocevar was frustrated getting stuck behind me.
“I just want to make sure I run my line. I knew it was going to be tough. Any other time in the race, I certainly would’ve let him go, but I had to hold that track position because I knew the end of the stage was coming.
“If it was an infinite run when we don’t know when the caution was coming, I certainly would’ve let him go.”
‘I gave him the old finger out the window’
Hamlin said he and Hocevar raced hard to end the stage. The Chase standings leader knew Hocevar’s tendency.
After one bit of contact and a finger out the window, it was resolved.
“We raced hard. There was one time… He really tries to slide guys a ton. He goes in there and just overdrives and then uses his right rear to move you up.
“So I know that tendency. I planned for it and drove accordingly, so I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t drive in really deep to not let him ever clear.
“There was one time, he slipped up and got into the side, and I gave him the old finger out the window, ‘No, no, no, don’t do that.’
“From there on out, we didn’t make contact again.”
Hamlin on Hocevar potentially burning up his tires
Hamlin was asked if Hocevar was hurting his chances by running so hard early in runs, burning up his tires and ruining his chances to run well late. The driver of No. 11 said that Hocevar sets his car up that way, and he’s actually getting the most out of the setup.
“He’s getting the most out of his car, certainly on the short run. He’s really good on restarts. I think the numbers would support that.
“Some of that is the aggressiveness. Some of that’s what he’s built into his cars, to be able to charge corners really, really hard. Now, that comes at a price, absolutely in the long run, but there’s a balance there to be had.
“That’s where Carson allows himself to keep track position, by being good on these restarts. He gains two or three spots; it will usually take 80 laps to re-give those spots away.
“It’s actually a strategy I think they’re employing.”
Hamlin finished 2nd in last night’s race. Carson Hocevar finished 13th. In the process, Hocevar moved up one spot to 7th in the Chase standings.
