Denny Hamlin weighs in on Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs surprise playoff eliminations
Denny Hamlin survived the Round of 16, but some of his fellow wheelmen weren't as lucky, and their chase for the Cup Series title in 2024 is over.
Two of the drivers eliminated included drivers Hamlin knows very well — Brad Keselowski , who Hamlin has been racing against for the better part of two decades, and Ty Gibbs , Hamlin's teammate. On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, the veteran driver weighed in on the duo's disappointing evening at Bristol.
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"Given the wildness of the tracks, and the unpredictability of the finishing order due to the type of tracks we were running, yes, you have a very valid point there. I just thought — I think Atlanta, I think they hit it right on TV, Atlanta was the big swing and miss for Brad K there," Hamlin said, regarding Keselowsi's surprise elimination . "You know, usually, the last few Atlanta races, he had run really well, just didn't have it this time. So that, compiled with two other really bad finishes, just was not enough for him."
Keselowski seemed destined to make a long run in the playoffs, but it was all for naught after a couple of rough finishes. As for Gibbs, Hamlin pointed out that he was really running against Chase Briscoe on Saturday night, and the Stewart-Haas Racing wheelman just out-performed his future teammate.
"If you're Briscoe and you're Ty, you've got to think that — going into the weekend, you have to assume that either myself or Martin [Truex Jr.] , who are within shouting distance, or Brad — one of us is going to have a really good day. So, one of us is not going to make it," Hamlin added . "So, at that point, it's outrun the other.
"If you're Ty, you've gotta outrun Briscoe. If you're Briscoe, just outrun Ty and you'll be fine, right? It looked like it was going to be a really tight battle. It really was, you know, because they looked very, very similar on speed. Briscoe and Stewart-Haas, hats off to them. Richard Boswell is doing a fabulous job getting that team speed that we have not seen all season. It is out of the blue."
Alas, Denny Hamlin is still flirting with the possibility of winning his first Cup Series title, while Brad Keselowski and Ty Gibbs will be trying to gain all the knowledge they can for next season's run. It's disappointing for the two wheelmen, but that's just how it goes with the current playoff system.
