HAMLIN WINS IN CONTROVERSY
- burningrubberpodcast
- Apr 2, 2024
- 2 min read
Written By: Lena
Denny Hamlin gets it done in his home state, but not without controversy at Richmond Raceway.
Following the conclusion of Sunday’s race, 4th place finisher Martin Truex claimed “|Hamlin | jumped the start and then just used me up in Turn 1.”
The caution flag waved on lap 398, as Kyle Larson went spinning on the front stretch. The spin occurred before the leaders took the white flag. This meant the race would end in overtime. Hamlin was to lead the pack in the restart meaning he was the control car. In replays it appears that Hamlin fired off prior to the restart zone. As per nascar rules, any driver who accelerates their car before the restart zone is deemed as jumping the start. After reviewing the restart Nascar officials claimed the restart was good and there was no foul.
Contrary to NASCAR’s ruling, Elton Sawyer, NASCAR's Sr. VP of Competition, explained, “As I had the opportunity to look Sunday night as well as multiple times yesterday — first and foremost, the 11 [Hamlin] is the control vehicle. They have earned the right to be in that position. They’ve won the battle off pit road and put themselves in a position to be able to control the restart. And as I looked at it yesterday, again multiple times, there’s no doubt he rolled early.”
Despite admitting that Hamlin jumped the start, Sawyer claimed “it's a bang-bang call. It's the end of the race, we're a live sporting event, and we don't have the luxury of a time out to review it and make that call. If that happens at lap 10, or 50, or 300, the call could have been different."
Many drivers and NASCAR personnel following the incident also sided against the ruling. Kevin Harvick claimed, “ |He| definitely rolled before the line.”
Hamlin on his podcast Action’s Detrimental later confessed, “I went pretty early in the zone.”
This leaves the question, what now? This was not the only questionable call by race control during the race. Earlier on lap 170 Kyle Busch brought out a caution as he hit the wall in turn 1, but kept going. Many drivers question the point of the caution. Last year’s Champ Ryan Blaney exclaimed, “are you *** kidding me? Someone touches the *** wall they throw a caution. We had people blowing **** tires at Bristol and nothing.“
What is happening in the tower? Will NASCAR do anything about race control? What precedent does the last lap call set for future restarts? Is this a one and done incident like the hail melon?
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