"NASCAR should be on high alert": Denny Hamlin calls for stringent enforcement of rules as playoff battle heats up

Joe Gibbs Racing driver turned podcast host Denny Hamlin hopes NASCAR will be reinforcing the Cup Series as well as the Xfinity and Truck Series rulebook as best they can going into the postseason. Hamlin's comments come in light of recent events involving ThorSport Racing's Ty Majeski being handed an L2-level penalty for running low air pressures on their #98 Ford F150.

The #98 crew were found to have been using a faulty valve stem on their rear right tire, a violation of the rules applying to the wheel assembly. The faulty valve stem allowed air to bleed out of the tire during the race, lowering its air pressure. The lower a team and driver can get the air pressure in their tire, the faster a car typically goes.

With the inspection of the faulty valve stem in a dunk tank proving NASCAR's suspicions to be correct, the reprimand was on its way for ThorSports Racing. The tank is called a dunk tank, and Denny Hamlin has urged the governing body to keep its policing of the rules to a maximum during the playoffs in all three nationwide series.

He said on an episode of his podcast:

"I think NASCAR should be on high alert, all through the playoffs, every series. I think you need to be out there dunking tires on a regular. The lower the air, the faster you go. Randomly pick a set off of ten cars that are up at the front."

Denny Hamlin sure does make a valid point, as the playoff system can tempt teams to try and cheat the system here and there to gain a competitive advantage on the track.

Denny Hamlin praises Next Gen Cup car's performance on intermediate tracks

Coming off of a solid weekend at Kansas Speedway, Denny Hamlin seemed to enjoy the new eighth-generation car on the mile-and-a-half long intermediate track. The Tampa, Florida native spoke on how he wants to see more intermediate tracks on the Cup Series schedule and discussed the Next Gen car's capability on them in a recent episode of his podcast.

He said:

"Certainly hope Mr. Ben Kennedy keep putting a mile and a halfs on the track. This Next Gen car while it is a struggle on short tracks, it is an a** kicker on the mile and a half."

NASCAR next heads to a short track with the upcoming Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.