NASCAR star Denny Hamlin makes his point on the controversial turn 6 track limit case

Denny Hamlin recently shared his perspective on the controversial track limit issue at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) during the latest episode of Dirty Mo Media. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver explained how Turn 6 was handled in the race, why NASCAR's decision may have been influenced by public scrutiny, and how it impacted the competition.

The controversy surrounding track limits at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) comes from NASCAR’s inconsistent enforcement of shortcutting violations during the Cup Series race. While NASCAR did penalize drivers for cutting Turns 3, 4, and 5, Turn 6 was left unpoliced.

The discussion surrounding this was highlighted in a tweet from Dirty Mo Media on X, where in a clip, Denny Hamlin was asked for his opinion on track limit enforcement at COTA. Hamlin answered based on his observation of the race. The tweet was captioned,

“What’s your take on how track limits were handled at COTA this weekend? 🤔”

Hamlin said that while he had no confusion regarding track limits, he noticed a lot of other cars cutting Turn 6 early in the race. His team informed him that drivers were taking advantage of the corner without consequences, as NASCAR was not policing that section. He speculated that the decision to overlook Turn 6 was due to its visibility on TV, which could have led to criticism if officials missed any violations. In his own words,

"I didn't have any confusion, but I noticed many cars early in the race short-cutting (turn) six. I'm not trying to call out anyone. My team started to see kind of cars were short-cutting it way more than I was, and they're like they are not judging turn six. You can kind of do whatever you want there, which I have a theory. The reason they chose not to judge turn six is because there is a clear view on TV, whether you shortcut it, and they don't want a bunch of criticism, that they missed this call, missed that call,"

Later, Denny Hamlin also mentioned afterward that NASCAR had warned teams about penalties for shortcutting Turn 6 during the race. However, he felt that some drivers may have received this information later than others, which could have influenced their approach.

---

Denny Hamlin talks about Kyle Busch’s efforts in intense COTA battle

After the dramatic conclusion of the COTA race, Denny Hamlin praised Kyle Busch’s performance during the final laps on his Actions Detrimental podcast. Though Hamlin was not in contention for the win, he gave his analysis on the intense battle between Busch, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick.

During the closing laps, Busch fought hard to defend his lead from Bell, who eventually overtook him. Byron and Reddick joined the fight, creating a four-car battle. Hamlin credited Busch for holding the lead longer than expected despite having what he believed was the fourth-best car at the time.

"It was a great race and certainly I think Kyle Busch said it best, kind of with Bell's patience there. Kyle was certainly trying all he could to hold him off. I mean, you got to give Kyle a tremendous amount of credit. I think that he had the fourth-best car at the time while he was leading. He held on the lead way longer than he should have. But I mean just a masterclass by all four drivers. There was contact but nothing egregious. Everyone was able to stay in it," Hamlin said. [38:27 onwards]

He added that the battle was intense yet fair, with no major incidents or spins, making for an entertaining spectacle for fans. Unlike Christopher Bell, who has already secured two wins this season, and Busch, who was in contention at COTA, Denny Hamlin has struggled to find a win in 2025. His best result so far has been a sixth-place finish in Atlanta, with two other races ending outside the top 20.