“I feel bad for Katherine Legge”: Denny Hamlin does not mince his words while talking about British driver’s Cup debut

Denny Hamlin weighed in on the controversial entry of British driver Katherine Legge at Phoenix Raceway. He felt bad for Legge before pointing out the issue of driver approval that NASCAR should address.

For context, Katherine Legge was approved to race at Phoenix Raceway despite lacking an extensive stock car racing resume. On lap 215, she exited the race early after crashing off turn two as a lapped driver. Hamlin, meanwhile, posted his best finish of the season in second place.

Speaking about Legge and NASCAR's approval process, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver said (via Frontstretch):

"There probably needs to be a stricter process than what it is. I hate this... last week the way it played out because I feel bad for Katherine [Legge]." [3:07]

While Denny Hamlin was impressed with the Legge's performance in the earlier sessions, he explained that competing against Cup drivers on Sundays is a different ball game.

"Again, you get out there, things are different in the race but it's like I hate it for her... and it's probably not fair to her that she's kind of getting the brunt of all the scrutiny." [3:33]

The 23XI Racing owner, who previously brought inexperienced stock car drivers like Kamui Kobayashi to the premier series, believes the situation with Katherine Legge should be an eye-opener for NASCAR.

"But it does open and it should open eyes to NASCAR to like, 'We're not very strict in who gets to run Cup cars.' And it should be the most elite series and shouldn't just come in whenever you want," Hamlin said. "Certainly, you'd like to see it a little bit more strict."

Fellow NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez, who got collected by Katherine Legge on lap 215, also didn't blame the British driver. Suarez called out NASCAR for allowing drivers lacking stock car experience to join the Cup Series field.

In her part, Legge was embarrassed about the incident at Phoenix Raceway but vowed to continue improving her performance on stock cars.

For now, NASCAR has revised the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP). The provisional spot will only be granted if more than 40 cars qualify for a race.

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Denny Hamlin visited Disney with 23XI Racing driver ahead of Las Vegas race

Denny Hamlin had an off-track excursion with Disney ahead of the Pennzoil 400. He was joined by 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick and their respective families as they explored Immersive Disney Animation on the Las Vegas strip.

Hamlin took to Instagram and wrote:

"Had a great time at the Immersive Disney Animation in Las Vegas. Thanks for having us @lhimmersive [Lighthouse Immersive]."

Tyler Reddick is one of two drivers under 23XI Racing, a Toyota-affiliated NASCAR Cup Series team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan. Reddick drives the No. 45 Toyota Camry alongside teammate Bubba Wallace.

The NASCAR drivers gear up for the fifth race of the 2025 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday. The race will start at 3:30 p.m. ET.