NASCAR’s rule book is the stuff of legend in the racing world. It’s massive, ever-changing, and packed with pages detailing every nut, bolt, and body panel allowed on a Next-Gen Cup car. For teams and drivers, it’s both a guide and a challenge. The rule book doesn’t just keep the playing field level. It dares competitors to find every loophole. In the era of the Next Gen car, those loopholes are getting harder to find, and the penalties for crossing the line are more severe than ever.

With million-dollar wins and playoff spots hanging in the balance, teams are constantly weighing the risk against the reward. Is it worth pushing the limits? Or will NASCAR’s inspectors catch you red-handed? That’s the high-stakes game everyone’s playing in 2025, and Cup Series veteran Denny Hamlin isn’t afraid to call it like he sees it.

Finding loopholes is the name of the game

Denny Hamlin isn’t one to shy away from speaking his mind. Whether it’s the NASCAR All-Star Race format, the controversial charter system, or the quirks of the Next Gen car, Hamlin has been openly critical. Recently, he’s even called the current All-Star format acceptable, but admits it’s got a gimmick involved with the ‘promoter’s caution’. As a driver at Joe Gibbs Racing and co-owner at 23XI Racing, Hamlin’s voice carries weight in the garage, and he was blunt on his assessment of penalties.

After All-Star Race qualifying, Hamlin was asked about the high-profile penalty handed to Chris Buescher’s team after Kansas. “I mean, it certainly got to be fair to everyone. I had a race win taken away. Whatever it says in the book is what the penalty should be.” NASCAR hit RFK Racing’s No. 17 team with an L1 penalty for exceeding front bumper cover reinforcement limits in the post-race inspection. They docked Chris Buescher 60 points and five playoff points, fining the team $75,000, and suspending crew chief Scott Graves for two races. Moreover, Buescher was 12th in the point standings, but he dropped to 24th afterward.

With Buescher’s penalty coming on the back of his teammate Ryan Preece’s DQ two weeks back, along with Joey Logano, does it create a bad perception of the sport? Denny Hamlin doesn’t think so. “Teams are trying to find any edge that they can with the Next-Gen car because you’re boxed in so many areas… It’s just a game of can you get caught or not,” he explained. The Next Gen car, with its spec chassis and tightly controlled parts, leaves little room for innovation. Teams are forced to push the smallest boundaries for the smallest gains, knowing the penalty for getting caught is steeper than ever. And sometimes they manage to get away with it, but sometimes they have to face the consequences. And Hamlin has been on the receiving end of this as well!

During the first season of the Next-Gen car in 2022, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were stripped of a 1-2 finish with Joe Gibbs Racing at Pocono Raceway! That’s right, the #11 and #18 were found to have added an extra layer of tape over each corner of the front fascia ahead of the wheel openings. This affected the aerodynamics of the car and was a huge blow for JGR. However, that was just a glimpse into the aero troubles the Next-Gen car would continue to cause, as teams still face penalties for any minor infractions with the aero setup, like Chase Briscoe did at Daytona this year, when he was docked 100 points, before the decision was overturned on appeal.

So, with NASCAR’s rule book thicker than ever and the penalties harsher, is the sport headed for a new era of total transparency? Or will they just higher the stakes in the game of cat and mouse? Only time will tell if this crackdown keeps the playing field level or just makes the rulebook even more important than the racing itself.

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Hamlin’s All-Star qualifying results amid a surprise pole-winner

The qualifying format for the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race was anything but ordinary. Unlike standard single-lap time trials, this year’s All-Star qualifying demanded a true team effort. Each driver had to complete a three-lap run, with a mandatory four-tire pit stop after the second lap. The pressure was intense. A flawless pit stop could gain crucial spots (and $100,000 for the fastest stop), while a single mistake could drop a favorite down the order.

In Friday’s qualifying session at North Wilkesboro, Hamlin clocked a lap of 1:29.922, and this effort places him eighth on the grid for Sunday’s main event. While the result was not ideal, the eventual pole-winner was someone no one could have called. Brad Keselowski stormed to the pole with a 1:27.362 lap, getting RFK Racing their first pole of the season!

Despite the pole coming in a non-points-paying race, Keselowski’s performance was a much-needed boost for RFK Racing after a disastrous start to the 2025 season. Meanwhile, Michael McDowell of Spire Motorsports added yet another fairytale story to All-Star qualifying as his young pit crew won the $100,00 fastest pit stop reward after a blistering 12.587 seconds.

With results going against the norm so far, will the main event on Sunday also produce some unprecedented drama? Let us know what you think in the comments!