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Denny Hamlin is known as a strong critic of NASCAR officials. Their decisions sometimes seem strange and unfounded, but rules must be followed. The experienced NASCAR driver recently used his "Actions Detrimental" podcast to comment on NASCAR's decisions following the chaotic race at Talladega Superspeedway.
In a media interview, Hamlin shared his thoughts on officiating in NASCAR over the past few weeks, acknowledging that NASCAR has a tough job in challenging situations and that it can be very difficult to do that work. However, fans of the sport and drivers believe that some things need to be improved.
“This is three weeks in a row we’re talking about the tower, or we’re talking about the officials post-race,” Hamlin said, as quoted by On3.
“We have enough chaos in our playoffs, we don’t need them to add to it by bad officiating, but for three weeks in a row, we’re talking about them being topics of the results of our race. … They’ve got a tough job. We’ve stated that a million times. There’s been many times I’ve stuck up for NASCAR officiating."
Hamlin explained that he wants to be fair to everyone involved. He recognizes that officials have a tough job, but he also believes they need to improve their performance. This great NASCAR driver emphasized the importance of holding people accountable for not doing their job well.
43-year-old stated that there are rules in place, and officials should apply them consistently. He questioned whether it was just a coincidence that both the No. 6 and No. 17 cars had parts missing after the race, insisting that it wasn’t. Denny expressed that no excuse could justify it, as he believed it was clearly manipulated in some way, leading to the parts falling off.
Fans of various NASCAR teams have different opinions regarding certain decisions made by NASCAR officials, often believing that they can be biased and make incorrect calls. Hamlin raises similar questions, expressing confusion over why some actions are considered penalties while others go unnoticed and without consequences. He emphasizes that it's natural to perceive things this way, and this view seems to have become widely accepted among NASCAR fans.
“It’s just one of many, and it makes it hard to sit here and maintain a neutral opinion about it, because it just doesn’t make sense on why sometimes it’s a penalty, sometimes it’s not. It just depends on — it makes you believe that there’s bias in our series, and whether it’s true or not, that’s the perception, and sometimes perception is reality.”- he continued.
Regarding the NASCAR championship, the 49-year-old isn't in a particularly tough situation, as he's in a good position. The race at Talladega wasn't ideal for him, but the most important thing for this experienced driver was that he avoided the chaos that grew at one point during the race. The question remains: can Hamlin break the curse he faces when it comes to winning the NASCAR Cup Series?
Denny Hamlin on the finish
Talladega is still a hot topic among NASCAR fans, especially since 28 cars were involved in a single incident, even though there were four laps remaining. Hamlin was confused at one point about what was happening, but he knew he had to push on even harder to keep his dream alive.
Fans criticize him for not yet winning the NASCAR Cup Series. Hamlin wants to break that curse, but he has emphasized several times that even if he doesn’t succeed, he considers himself one of the more successful drivers. The 49-year-old believes that sometimes luck is needed to win the NASCAR Cup Series, and he doesn’t think that a championship is the only measure of a driver’s success.
Regarding the finish, Hamlin was straightforward and didn’t hold back. He explained that he listened to the reasoning behind the decisions made during the race. This great driver mentioned that there was a delay in the cleanup process and that someone suggested they needed to speed things up, leading to a caution flag. However, he pointed out that calling for a caution doesn’t actually speed up the cleanup; in fact, it can slow it down because recovery vehicles can’t move freely while the cars are still on the track.
Hamlin stressed that they should keep the red flag as long as necessary to ensure a proper cleanup so that when they eventually go yellow, they can quickly resume racing. He also highlighted that teams can’t make any adjustments to their cars while waiting, as this affects the outcome and timing for the teams involved.
We will see if these criticisms can bring any positive result for Hamlin and his team.
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