“Designed to create more chaos” - Denny Hamlin digs at NASCAR for wanting to ‘wipe out’ drivers at Charlotte

Denny Hamlin has taken a sarcastic jibe at the repaved Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver poked fun at NASCAR, saying they want to "wipe out" the drivers at the Round of 12 finale.

During the summer break, Speedway Motorsports-owned Charlotte Motor Speedway's Turns 6 and 7 went under reconfiguration. The redesigned infield between the turns comprises a longer straightaway leading to a tight corner.

Moreover, the final turns of the 17-turn circuit have been reshaped to make the braking zone more challenging.

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 will mark the first Cup Series race at Charlotte's road course since the reconfiguration job. The changes are said to create an even more challenging atmosphere and give a tough time to the playoff drivers looking to punch their Round of 8 tickets.

Denny Hamlin, who will enter the Round of 12 finale with a 30-point cushion, jibed at NASCAR for apparently wanting to kick the drivers out. The JGR driver has made six appearances at the 2.28-mile circuit and has opined on the reconfiguration ahead of his seventh battle at the venue.

He said (via Dirty Mo Media).

"The reconfigure was designed to create more chaos. You're going to have to convince me otherwise of that. They make corners sharper and tighter. It was tighter in Turn 7 anyway, but now they made it to a point. So instead of you driving the normal optimum line to make this corner that is really really tight, tighter than the (LA) Coliseum," Denny Hamlin said.

"They made it a point so they want you to drive straight in the corner I believe, and wipe out whoever's in front of you and then it's gonna be a parking lot in Turn 7, and it's just going to be who can navigate and get through there," he added.

Denny Hamlin is currently placed fourth in the standings and is 27 points shy of his teammate Christopher Bell in second.

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Denny Hamlin opens up on the "tough balance" he has to maintain amid his driver-owner role

On one hand, the 54-time Cup Series race winner drives for JGR, on the other, he co-owns 23XI Racing with billionaire NBA legend Michael Jordan.

Recently, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, following which Denny Hamlin came under the scanner to elaborate on the case.

However, the driver-owner said he had to keep his revelation "limited" in the media center, as he maintains a boundary between him being the driver of the #11 Toyota first, and then 23XI's co-owner.

Thus, before kicking off his YellaWood 500 run at the Talladega Superspeedway, Hamlin voiced his concern about the "tough balance" he's witnessing due to the dual role he has to play.

"This weekend, I obviously didn't say much in the media center, I have to be respectful that while at the racetrack there, I'm the driver of the #11 first and obviously you want to keep your comments pretty short and limited to be respectful to the sponsors I got on my hat and my shirt during that time," Hamlin said.

"That's the tough balance, but when people ask me about 'what's the balance?' One of the toughest is having to walk the tight rope of, 'well, I'm here as a driver but you're asking me owner questions. But I want to be respectful and answer your questions,'" he added.

Per the latest update, the judge has agreed to NASCAR's request to postpone the preliminary injunction hearing.