The Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway is finally over, and once again it turned out to be a rain-shortened race. While the race had multiple contenders for the victory, Denny Hamlin believes it could have been him had NASCAR managed the race well.

Denny Hamlin believes NASCAR management cost him a potential victory at the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600. Speaking on his podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver blasted the 'long breaks' between stages for stalling race momentum before weather ended the event early.

"If we could just tidy that up just a little bit. I just think that would make overall," Hamlin said on his Action Detrimental Podcast. "The fans are tuned in to watch racing, right? And so some of those stage cautions were long, and all three of these races were good, and you just like that's where you feel like you got stolen because it's like this was going to be a great weekend of racing all three."

Most of the Cup Series races have three stages, but the Coca-Cola 600 had four because of its sheer length. Drivers drove for 600 miles in a 400-lap setting, and it is understandable why there were long stage breaks. However, it indeed affected Hamlin's chance of a race win.

After seeing the qualifying getting washed out, Hamlin started the race from 11th place as NASCAR's standard protocol is to prioritise the finishing line-up from the previous race, which was Watkins Glen this time. Despite starting from 11th, he moved to fourth by the end of Stage 1, and was on lead in Stage 2.

Hamlin kept pushing with second in Stage 3, but ultimately fell back to third by the time NASCAR stopped the race. With this, Daniel Suarez claimed the race win, as Christopher Bell finished as runner-up. Hamlin, on the other hand, came home in third place.

Denny Hamlin puts Coca-Cola 600 timing suggestion

While the long stage breaks were a concern, it wasn't the only issue for Hamlin on Sunday. Questioning the timing and asking it to be moved ahead, here's what the JGR driver said:

"Like I wish we could just give ourselves a little more room on the front side. And I totally understand, you know, you've got the Indy500 and whatnot. There still was a few hour gap from the end of the 500 to the beginning of the 600. So, I don't know. It's hindsight," Hamlin further added.

The crown jewel race, the Coca-Cola 600, always has a risk of getting washed out, given the time it takes place. However, NASCAR barely has a choice, given that they have the Indy 500 just hours before the race, and matching the timing of two mega races would surely diminish the viewership of the races.

Moreover, multiple drivers try the Double Duty this weekend, and matching the timing would obliterate any future chances. As a result, NASCAR's hand is tied for now, unless they try out something different.

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Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi