Dale Earnhardt Jr. Argues in Favor of Denny Hamlin, Amid Calls to Face the Same 1-Race Ban as Bubba Wallace Last Year

NASCAR has seen its fair share of drama over the years. The latest incident occurred when Denny Hamlin was accused of intentionally causing an accident on the last lap of Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway. NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, confirmed that they were looking into Hamlin’s actions and comments. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when some called for Hamlin to face a one-race suspension, similar to what Bubba Wallace received last year for an incident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Despite the similarity in the incidents, Dale Earnhardt Jr. argued in his podcast, Dale Jr Download, that Hamlin’s case was not the same as Wallace’s. According to him, the severity of what happened last year was more than just an accident that occurred during a race.

“There’s some severity to what happened last year with Bubba [Wallace] and the… the hits and the contact that cars made with each other, you would… you could look at it like, the intention the intent to go crash somebody is the same no matter what the result is.” said Dale Jr

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Last year, Wallace received a one-race ban after a heated altercation with Kyle Larson. Wallace ran Larson off the track, causing his car to narrowly avoid a severe collision with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell and the situation is very akin to Denny Hamlin wrecking Ross Chastain.

Denny Hamlin admits his intentions to wreck Ross Chastain

Now, Hamlin himself has admitted to his intentions in his Actions Detrimental podcast. He said, “It wasn’t a mistake. No, it wasn’t a mistake. I let the wheel go, and I said he’s coming with me.” 

However, Earnhardt Jr still believes that the two cases are not similar, and Hamlin should not receive the same punishment as Wallace. He also thinks NASCAR tends to look at the severity of the moment and reacts based on how damning it was or how much the repercussion was for everybody else involved.

Dale Jr said “So, should be a same to be a similar you know penalty across the board, if you’re trying to do it you’re… you’re as guilty as the guy that succeeded. But NASCAR often looks at the severity of the moment and reacts based on, you know, how damning it was or how… how much the repercussion was for everybody else involved. “

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It’s unclear what NASCAR will decide regarding Hamlin’s case. However, one thing is for sure, fans will be watching closely to see how they handle this situation. It’s a delicate balance between punishing the guilty party and being fair to all involved.