JGR’s Chris Gabehart shares his honest take on Denny Hamlin's tirade about Superspeedway racing 

Joe Gibbs Racing’s competition director, Chris Gabehart has shared his thoughts on Denny Hamlin’s frustration after the last-lap crash at the Daytona 500 on February 16.

During the NASCAR Cup Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, Hamlin moved to the front after avoiding two big crashes. He was side-by-side with Austin Cindric on the last lap but got spun on the final lap and finished 24th.

Gabehart, who was Hamlin’s crew chief for six seasons, posted his take on the JGR No. 11 driver's advice to fellow drivers on X.

"The problem is... dilution. Ponder hard, folks," Gabehart wrote.

The three-time Daytona 500 winner called out the reckless driving in superspeedway races. During the latest episode of his podcast 'Actions Detrimental', Hamlin pointed to the wreck on the last lap, which was also the third big crash in the last 15 laps.

"It’s not just superspeedway racing, it’s dumb*** racing," Hamlin said in the latest episode of his podcast.

"My favorite quote from Moneyball is, 'When your enemies make mistakes, don't interrupt.' But I’m here trying to interrupt them and say, 'Hey, you don't have to do it this way'… I'm tired of getting taken out by stupid moves that we chalk up to, that’s just superspeedway racing," he added.

Hamlin was also involved in a crash on lap 63, with Josh Berry, Zane Smith, and Austin Cindric. His car only had a minor damage. However, the last lap in overtime when Cole Custer hit Hamlin caused a big wreck. William Byron managed to avoid it and won the Daytona 500 for the second time in a row.

'That’s unsafe for us drivers' - Denny Hamlin speaks out about 'not throwing the caution'

Denny Hamlin was leading during the 67th running of the Daytona 500 with one lap left when the multi-car crash struck the front pack but no caution was thrown. The 44-year-old also commented on driver safety during the same episode of his podcast and said:

"I was wrecked and then somebody came up from the bottom and hit me in the left-side door...I don’t know if it was because they kept their foot in it, or they just got clipped or something. But I think, from the driver safety standpoint, they’re a little worried that this is a slippery slope. By not throwing the caution, you’re still rewarding those who keep your foot all the way in the gas," Hamllin mentioned (42:01 onwards)

"I just think that from the drivers, I think they feel very vulnerable sitting in the middle of the racetrack. Just because it doesn’t affect the finish, you don’t throw a caution. So then I’m sitting in the middle of the racetrack in a green condition while cars are still coming. So, that’s unsafe for us drivers," he concluded [43:16 onwards]