Denny Hamlin holds nothing back on NASCAR's ‘severity’ penalty clause amid Penske controversy: “I don’t think it should be”

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin did not mince his words about the Ty Dillon-Austin Cindric controversy in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas. The veteran driver believes sanctions shouldn't be based solely on the severity of the outcome but rather on the intent behind the action.

Ty Dillon and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric were involved in an early-race incident at Circuit of The Americas on March 2. On Lap 4, the Kaulig Racing driver bumped Cindric off the track, but the Penske driver wasted no time retaliating. Cindric clipped Dillon’s right rear, sending the #10 Chevrolet into a haphazard spin, which Dillon suggested was a deliberate act of payback rather than a racing incident. NASCAR did not penalize either driver for this incident.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s #11 driver Denny Hamlin has weighed in on the incident between Ty Dillon and Austin Cindric. Hamlin said he wasn’t sure if the incident warranted a penalty, as he didn’t have access to the necessary data to form a definitive opinion. However, he noted that when an on-track clash appears to be a 50-50 situation, NASCAR typically gives the aggressor the benefit of the doubt.

Hamlin also commented on NASCAR's handling of the situation. He said (via the Actions Detrimental podcast on YouTube):

"It shouldn't be the severity of the outcome that decides whether it's a penalty or not and I feel like a lot of the time, that's the case right? Had Ty Dillan hit the wall really hard you know really hit the wall and then bounce in the racetrack, I think that you know we're talking about a different conversation. But in the subconscious mind, I think that it plays a role in whether NASCAR chooses to penalize or not, which I don't think it should be."

Denny Hamlin has struggled in the 2025 regular season so far, finishing outside the top 20 in two of the first three races. However, his P6 result at Atlanta Motor Speedway stands out as a positive takeaway. As the season progresses, the #11 team at Joe Gibbs Racing will look to make the necessary adjustments to improve their performance and secure stronger finishes.

"Not a good start": Denny Hamlin opens up on struggles as JGR teammate Christopher Bell dominates

Denny Hamlin's sluggish start to the 2025 Cup Series campaign has been in high contrast with JGR's #20 driver and his teammate Christopher Bell. Bell has won two of the last three races after a terrible run in the Daytona 500. Recently, the #11 driver shared his thoughts on his forgettable start to the season despite not doing anything wrong.

"For me, personally, this was not a good start schedule-wise for me, the first three races, two superspeedways and a road course. Now, the superspeedways gives me anxiety because I always get crashed in them. It's not anything I'm doing wrong. You know you have a chance of ending with three 30-place finishes in a row," Hamlin described on the same podcast. [46:06]