Frustrated Denny Hamlin calls out NASCAR after ‘bullshit’ Talladega race

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin expressed his disappointment following the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Known for his prowess in superspeedway racing, Hamlin had a rough day at Talladega after he failed to register a top-ten finish.

Hamlin rolled off from P13 after clocking a 52.983-second lap in qualifying. Once the race got underway, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran steadily worked his way into the top five. However, after cycling through a pit stop, Hamlin’s momentum stalled when he encountered Ross Chastain, who was running at a slower pace.

After mentioning this incident, Denny Hamlin inquired about why this was allowed to happen.

"I don't know why in NASCAR if you can have someone black flag for forcing you below the yellow line to stop them from passing you, why can't we stop the guy that is swerving at 150 mph when the pack is coming at 190, who's trying to cause a wreck?" Hamlin said. [30:17 onwards]

Furthermore, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver voiced his concerns regarding how competitors rejoin the track following pit stops.

"I'm a little frustrated by it because I've seen it getting a little bit out of control and I would like to see I would like to see something be said about the unsafe merging that that the teams are that drivers are doing intentionally to um block oncoming cars[...] We got this line of cars going and so they just said, 'Okay I'm just going to swerve back and forth until somebody checks up or gets crashed.' That's bullshit racing," he added.

Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel of the #11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, has already secured two victories this season. The three-time Daytona 500 winner nearly captured a third win at Bristol, but his bid was cut short as Kyle Larson delivered a commanding performance, leading 411 of 500 laps at the 0.533 mile short oval track.

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“Denny Hamlin would have done the same thing”: Steve Letarte on Ross Chastain’s move

Former NASCAR crew chief Steve Letarte recently weighed in on Ross Chastain’s defensive move that prevented Denny Hamlin from rejoining the race leaders. Letarte explained that he had no issue with Chastain protecting his position, adding that if the roles were reversed, Hamlin would have made the exact same move to defend his track position.

In an episode of NASCAR's Inside The Race podcast, the former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief said:

"I don't have a problem with what Chastain's doing here. (1:39) []..I'm sure Denny's not happy with him, but I'm sure Denny would have done the same thing if he was in Ross' spot, So I am okay with it. But that I think what derailed the Toyota strategy " (1:44 onwards)

Meanwhile, the next Cup Series race, the Würth 400 Presented By LIQUI MOLY, is scheduled to run at Texas Motor Speedway. Catch the race live at 3:30 PM on the 4th of May.