Joe Gibbs Racing teams faced a troubling brake-pad issue throughout practice and qualifying at Iowa Speedway, with Denny Hamlin among those affected. Yet despite the concerns, NASCAR’s rules prevented teams from changing the pads before the race. The situation left drivers facing a potential safety issue with limited options. Now, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is questioning why NASCAR has become so rigid over a component teams once changed without hesitation.

“We would go to the racetrack and if we wanted to change the f***ing pads or change the rotors or put new in, we just did it. And in such a short period of time, we have gotten to a place where nobody wants f***ing nobody to be able to do sh**. Why are we so rigid? When was changing brakes every week a thing ever? If you change your brake pads before the race, sure, go to the rear.”

That was Dale Jr’s rant related to the brake pad issue at Iowa on the Dale Jr Download podcast.

NASCAR did not allow Denny Hamlin to change his brake pads before the Iowa Speedway race because the component is restricted under the current rulebook. Allowing unrestricted swaps could also create a loophole for teams to test different performance compounds or gain an advantage. While NASCAR permits changing or bleeding certain single-sourced components (like lines or cracked rotors) for safety, brake pads have strict replacement limitations.

However, Dale Jr. believes safety should take priority when a team identifies a genuine problem.

Hamlin had to manage the race with compromised braking performance from the opening laps. On Lap 3, he radioed, “My pedal just went long. It’s f***ing ridiculous.”

Despite the problem, Hamlin managed to finish fifth. But the result does not erase the risk involved. Brakes are among the most critical safety systems on a stock car. Especially at a high speed short oval like Iowa Speedway. The only thing that helps a driver make the corner after straightaway speed is the brakes.

That is why Dale Jr. believes NASCAR could preserve its competitive safeguards while giving teams an emergency option. Starting the race in the rear after unapproved adjustment is a good way to police the situation, rather than just shutting the door completely.

Hamlin’s experience showed how difficult the alternative can be. “Obviously you want to have brakes. That was a crazy race to have to do it the whole time without it…..I’d retire at the end of the year if I had to do that every week for sure. Lesson learned on our part,” Hamlin said via NBC Sports.

For a driver to discuss retirement after managing a race with compromised braking highlights just how serious the issue became. And there is a scope for NASCAR to revisit this situation and provide a flexible alternative.

Iowa exposed a brake combination that worked elsewhere

Iowa Speedway turned into a difficult test for JGR teams, with Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe managing their brakes throughout the race.

The problem was not necessarily a component that had failed everywhere. Instead, Denny Hamlin explained that the teams had chosen a brake combination that had worked at other tracks but struggled under Iowa’s unique demands.

“We tried to run something a little bit different, not unknown,” Hamlin said. “Other teams have run it quite a bit before. I wanted to lean on 23XI. They had been pretty strong at this track over the last year or so.”

The JGR and 23XI teams had shared information through their technical alliance. However, each crew still made its own decisions regarding setup and brake combinations. That decision became costly once the cars hit the track.

Denny Hamlin believed his team may also have received a bad batch of brake pads. Other cars had previously used the same components without experiencing similar problems, making the situation difficult to identify beforehand.

Iowa’s layout then magnified whatever weakness existed in the combination. The 0.894-mile oval is extremely fast for its size, while its short straightaways provide limited time for the brakes to cool between corners.

“With it being the fastest short track on the planet, it doesn’t have long straightaways to cool, but it has fast speeds that are trying to clamp down on that rotor. So it creates heat really, really quickly.”

That combination created a nightmare for JGR drivers. What worked elsewhere suddenly became unreliable at Iowa, forcing teams to manage braking performance throughout the weekend.

And for Denny Hamlin, the experience only strengthened the argument that NASCAR needs a better solution when a brake issue becomes apparent before the race.