Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on World Wide Technology Raceway losing its internet connection during a recent podcast. Hamlin mentioned that this was the second year in a row that Gateway had experienced internet issues, with the outage lasting for an hour last year. He expressed concern about how the loss of internet connection could impact the teams and suggested that the track needed to upgrade its infrastructure to prevent future problems.
Despite the internet issues, the race at Gateway continued, with Austin Cindric ultimately taking home the victory in the Enjoy Illinois 300 while Hamlin finished in second place. This marked Cindric’s first win since the 2022 Daytona 500 and continued Hamlin’s streak of top-five finishes for the fifth week in a row.
Hamlin also discussed Ryan Blaney’s fuel situation during the race at Gateway, noting that Blaney’s team seemed to have miscalculated their fuel levels. He speculated that the crew chief had assumed there was a certain amount of fuel in the tank before the pit stop, leading to the error. By only adding one can of gas instead of two during the pit stop, the team fell short on fuel, causing Blaney to miss out on what could have been a potential win.
Nick Geddes from On3 also contributed to this story, providing additional insights into the events at World Wide Technology Raceway.