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Denny Hamlin calls out Justin Marks over claims that Daniel Suarez wasn’t at the hot seat coming into 2024

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Geetansh Pasricha | Last updated 2/27/24

The race at Atlanta ended in a photo finish with Daniel Suarez taking the victory home with a 0.003-second gap. The 32-year-old joined Trackhouse back in 2021 and has been a part of the team since then. They have won two races, including Atlanta, together. The Mexican’s future in the team looked to be under constant threat coming into the 2024 season after Trackhosue signed three development drivers who could replace him in the No:99 Chevy.

Trackhouse Racing co-owner, Justin Marks addressed these rumors after Atlanta. He claimed that replacing Suarez, who was poor in 2023, was never on the card for the team. He insisted that he couldn’t envision a situation where Suarez was not a driver for the team. JGR veteran Denny Hamlin has refused to buy into his claims and has given his views on the situation.

That’s too vague. I know. I hear that and I listen to the teardown and when you statements like, ‘He’ll always be a part of Trackhouse,’ I’m sorry, that’s not, that’s all he can say, more than likely. But he didn’t say driving a Cup car at Trackhouse. Denny Hamlin said via Action Deterimenal podcast.

Hamlin stated that coming into the season, many in the racing community overlooked Suarez as a contender. Moreover, if he hadn’t had his fairly successful round in Georgia, then Mark’s words would have been different. However, the race at Atlanta had been a success for the sport overall. The fans received an action-packed race with around 10 cautions and a photo finish in the end.

Denny Hamlin had a poor weekend in Atlanta

Hamlin is a respected driver among NASCAR fans and currently races for Joe Gibbs Racing. Unfortunately, the American struck the unholy ‘trifecta’ as he was involved in multiple crashes during different stages of the race.

In the early stages of the race, the 43-year-old collided with the No.8 racecar and had a spin which led him to trundle down the pack. On another occasion, he had a slight contact with the No.22 Penske Ford making him disappear from the lead group. Lastly, just 21 laps before the chequered flag, he had a tussle with Chase Briscoe, which resulted in major damage for both cars and ruled Hamlin out in the fight for gold.

However, the American ramps himself up for the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hamlin was a preseason favorite for the championship. Moreover, he aims to secure a victory this weekend in a bid to revive his title chances and secure a playoff spot.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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