Denny Hamlin Explains the Rationale Behind Controversial Brake Setup Choice at Iowa

Denny Hamlin’s brake issues at Iowa Speedway appeared so severe prior to Sunday’s race that they essentially forced NASCAR to address his concerns. Along with other Toyota drivers Chase Briscoe, Riley Herbst, and Bubba Wallace, Hamlin spent significant time in the garage making pre-race adjustments.

Hamlin and Briscoe ultimately secured fifth and sixth-place finishes, respectively. During his Actions Detimental podcast, the current Cup Series championship leader provided insight into the weekend’s challenges.

“We tried to run something a little bit different, but nothing unknown,” Hamlin explained. “Other teams have used it quite a bit. I wanted to leverage the expertise of 23XI Racing, as they have been very strong at this track over the past year.”

“Since I haven’t found success at this specific racetrack yet, I wanted to try a setup that has proven to be effective elsewhere and learn from it,” Hamlin continued.

Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gayle decided not to deviate too far from their comfort zone during the Chase for the Championship, but the results were unexpected. “I realized quite quickly that it simply wasn’t working for me,” Hamlin said.

In hindsight, Hamlin believes the team was dealt a “bad batch” of brake pads, noting that other competitors using the same components did not face similar issues. Hamlin reported erratic brake pressure; while he had adequate stopping power when the components cooled down following a caution, pressure dropped to as little as 10 percent during green-flag runs.

Current NASCAR regulations prohibit teams from changing brake pads once a race has begun, as a replacement would require a lengthy behind-the-wall service. While calipers can be changed, the car must start the race at the rear of the field.

Gayle attempted to mitigate the issue by changing the air cooling ducts on the No. 11 car, but he described the move as a “50/50 solution” that ultimately failed to resolve the problem.

Both Gayle and 19 crew chief James Small suggested that NASCAR should review its brake pad replacement policy for safety reasons. Hamlin echoed these sentiments, acknowledging the logic behind the current rules while arguing for common sense in extreme circumstances.

“The argument is that we don’t want 36 teams having different brake pads for qualifying versus the race,” Hamlin noted. He stated he would have accepted almost any penalty to avoid the safety risk of driving without adequate braking.

“I told them I’d start on pit lane to address the major problem, but they said the rules don’t allow it. I argued that common sense should apply here—this isn’t for a strategic advantage, it’s to prevent a rotor from blowing or to stop a car from heading straight into a wall,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin also questioned the consequences of unauthorized changes. “They said the penalty would be worse than changing them under green. I figured I’d just have to go slower. If I lose brakes, I’ll just lap myself, but they did acknowledge that a rule change might be necessary.”

Hamlin emphasized that the decision was not an experimental gamble for the Championship. Instead, he wanted to utilize a proven setup used by others, like Tyler Reddick, who has shown superior performance at Iowa. “I have to take responsibility,” Hamlin concluded. “I can’t keep making mistakes at this track, so I wanted to try a setup that had already proven it could work.”

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