Denny Hamlin is going to the rear to start the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday due to a cooling unit change made within the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 in the moments leading up to the green flag.
Hamlin joins Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott at the rear of the field after the latter two crashed during qualifying and practice on Saturday afternoon. During those sessions, Hamlin and JGR team-mate Chase Briscoe both encountered brake problems during Saturday’s running, while all three 23XI Racing cars experienced issues to varying degrees.
Chris Gayle, crew chief for Hamlin and the JGR No. 11 team, said it was 50-50 whether or not the pre-race changes will get them to the end of the race while also being able to compete at full capacity. If it’s not the answer, Hamlin is going to have to go to the garage and make additional changes.
Meanwhile, Briscoe’s situation is more serious, with crew chief James Small describing his brake pads as “destroyed.” NASCAR does not allow teams to change brake pads unless manufacturer PFC Brakes notifies NASCAR of a defective product. That has not happened.
Teams are permitted to bleed their brakes before the race.
Motorsport.com understands the brake damage resulted from set-up choices made by the individual teams using data generated through the JGR-23XI technical alliance. From there, each respective team and crew chief makes their own decisions towards how aggressive to go on their respective setups. These were basically things they were trying to learn in advance of the Chase for the Championship next month.
From a 23XI standpoint, Riley Herbst will be in the worst shape once the race begins while Bubba Wallace’s team feels mostly confident they’ll be able to race competitively. Tyler Reddick appears to be in the best shape to race as normal.
Photos from Iowa - Sunday
50NASCAR Cup
Iowa - Sunday, in photos
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Iowa - Sunday, in photos
Iowa - Sunday, in photos
