Denny Hamlin Sent to Rear at Iowa Due to Cooling Unit Change

Denny Hamlin will start at the rear of the field in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday due to a cooling unit modification made to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 car just before the race began.

Hamlin joins Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott at the back after both crashed during qualifying and practice on Saturday. Both Hamlin and teammate Chase Briscoe experienced brake issues during those sessions, while all three cars from 23XI Racing faced varying degrees of problems.

Chris Gayle, the crew chief for Hamlin, indicated uncertainty about whether the pre-race adjustments would allow them to compete effectively throughout the race. Briscoe's brake pads were reported as severely damaged, and NASCAR regulations prevent teams from changing them unless notified of a defect by the manufacturer. Brake issues stemmed from setup decisions based on data from the JGR-23XI technical alliance, with varying confidence levels among the teams regarding their race readiness.