Hamlin looking forward to "the old days" at Richmond this weekend

The ¾-mile short track has hosted a pair of Saturday night races since 1998 but announced last season that its spring race would move to more traditional Sunday afternoon event in 2016.

Hamlin, a Richmond-area native and two-time winner at the track, said he was excited for the return of afternoon racing.

“Day races always make for great racing. The hotter the temperature is the more (tire) fall off,” Hamlin said. “I remember coming here many times as a fan and it used to be a day race, so I’m looking forward to it.

“I love day races and obviously it’s going to be a pretty exciting one because I feel like our team has a good chance to win.”

Hamlin excited for what's to come at RIR

Hamlin believes the afternoon race will further compliment the positive results seen this season from NASCAR’s new low downforce aerodynamic package.

“I’m really extremely pleased so far with what we’ve seen with the aero package and really the tire that’s gone with it,” he said. “The aero has gotten all of the credit for the great racing this year and the great finishes, but that aero has allowed Goodyear to make some adjustments and give us a tire that we’ve been looking for, for a long time.

“It’s really been a collaboration of both and that’s why you’ve seen such great finishes so far and I would think that will stay the same when we get to Richmond, especially now that we have a day race.”

In 19 Cup starts at Richmond, Hamlin has a pair of wins – most recently in 2010 – and seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. He also owns three wins at the track in the Xfinity Series.