Hamlin stunned by Heim's win: 'He's going to be a problem'
Denny Hamlin shares his reaction after a 14th-place finish at San Diego and what it means to see 23XI Racing driver Corey Heim score his first NASCAR Cup Series win.
Video Transcript
Boy, a lot to unpack with Denny Hamlin.
It winds up being a 14th place finish.
Caution didn't quite fall right for the, for the driver, but which part of this day makes you happier, Denny?
That you've cut this regular season points lead to eight or that your young driver won in his 13th career start?
I mean, the, the driver part.
I mean, the points is the points.
but, yeah, really happy for Corey and that whole team.
you know, Dave Rogers doing such a great job, over there putting that, fourth effort together and, you know, piecing together guys that we got in the shop and some development guys and, you know You know, we, we, we gave Corey an agenda, this week saying, you know, "At each start, here's what we expect.
Here's our expectations.
Here's what we want you to work on."
I don't think this was on the agenda- for San Diego.
So, man, I mean, he's, He, he's good at He's been good at road course racing anyway, but, man, he's, As Blaney said, he's gonna be a problem.
Let's talk about the driver's side of it.
Man, you were one second from catching that caution right, Denny, and having a, a much better day than 14.
No doubt.
I mean, this is, I, I felt really good about, you know, where our car was all day.
I mean, I'm at the line on pit road and he says, "I don't think you're gonna make it."
So I steered hard left and, caution came out.
So yeah, that would've That stunk and, you know, had to restart, I think 19th or 20th on that last restart and only could get back to 14th.
But, inside the top 15, you know, that, you know, check the box of, that's what our, agenda and our goal was for, for this race and go to Sonoma and try to do the same thing.
Real quick, back to Corey.
I saw you give him a, a fantastic hug after he got out of the car.
What did you want to tell him?
Just so proud of him.
I mean, you know, the maturity that he has, his race craft is far beyond his, his years, of age.
So, you know, that's, It's, it's hard to get all the pieces of the puzzle of a driver all in one, all in one driver, but I, I really feel optimistic that, you know, he's got all the tools that he needs to succeed.
And, again, he's I, I think he's gonna hit the ground running next year and, and be a, you know, a tough competitor.
But, you know, it's great to see all the 2311, cars up there.
Bubba Wallace finished in, second.
They said he drove right to P2 there on that first run, so, great job by them.
Riley as well, you know, I saw him up front, most of the day.
So Dave Rogers deserves a lot of credit for, for what he's doing over there making those cars what they are and, it's proud to see the results show.
Really good day for the owner and not a bad day for the driver, Denny Hamlin, as well.
