Denny Hamlin explains how drivers ‘defend’ the lead in Next Gen car

Denny Hamlin took control of Sunday’s Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway on the penultimate restart with 72 laps to go.

Hamlin, restarting second, got ahead of race-leader Kyle Larson when a crash coming off Turn 2 forced a caution. He retained the lead on the final restart with 62 laps to go and from there, went into playing defense against a charging Larson. Though Larson got within a few car lengths of Hamlin in the closing laps, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver held on to win his third race of the season and 54th in the Cup Series.

Hamlin, speaking on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, explained how he was able to defend Larson despite not pushing his car to the “absolute edge.”

“I’m probably pushing my car 85% when I’m leading,” Hamlin said. “Kyle, when he’s on the charge and he’s on the offense, he’s a guy that pushes it 95 plus most of the time. So, he’s naturally going to be able to run faster at the end of the race. Because I am more conservative in my approach A, around lap cars. B, don’t make a huge bobble. Because at Dover you’re on the edge of making a bobble or losing a second on one lap. I’m trying not to do that.

“I drove myself out to a big lead. I was trying to — if I give up half a tenth a lap for the next 20, I’m still fine. That’s a pace where I can maintain and keep him behind me. The downside is if I catch a lap car wrong, Kyle is there and he’s gonna pounce on it.

“It’s easier to chase than it is to be chased in these cars. Now, aero blocking is a separate thing, a whole different subject. But you just have the ability to push your car more when you’re chasing versus leading. That’s the right thing to do. Because when you’re leading, if you’re pushing your car to the absolute edge, you’re more than likely going to make a mistake and you will lose the lead easier than if you take it down one notch, keep it under the tires and make sure OK, I’m just gonna defend from this point on.”

Denny Hamlin holds off Kyle Larson to win at Dover

Those pair of restarts proved to be the difference, as Larson said he “couldn’t really do anything” after Hamlin separated himself from him.

“I went late in the zone and Martin [Truex Jr.] was trying to time it behind me, and he hit me right when I wanted to go and it just screwed up,” Larson said, via Kelly Crandall of RACER. “I got a lot of wheel spin, and he [Hamlin] was kind of able to out-race me into [Turn] 1. His car was really good on the short runs. I could pace it and get closer to him at the end of the runs. But it’s so easy to air-block. Not that he was doing anything dirty or anything like that. It’s so easy as the leader. Especially at a place like this, to shut off the air on the guys behind you.

“I knew when I got within three car lengths, he was going to start moving around. Just couldn’t really do anything. I was trying all sorts of different angles and speeds and all that. Nothing could generate enough speed to get close enough, I guess, to do anything. So that was a bummer.”