As Denny Hamlin’s popularity grows, so do his haters. From winning his first stock car race at the tender age of 16 to winning his 53rd career Cup victory last Sunday at Richmond, JGR’s #11 driver has seen it all, lived it all, and beat it all in a quest to claim his inaugural Bill France Cup. But the boos and controversy surround Hamlin on every checkered flag, and the Toyota Owners 400 was no different.

An early jump on the final restart has been the topic of the hour, plaguing the #11 team’s 5th Richmond triumph, and crew chief Chris Gabehart did not sound happy on SiriusXM’s NASCAR radio.

Chris Gabehart defends Denny Hamlin’s “calculated” move

Earlier this week, on the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin shared his thoughts on jumping the restart, explaining he didn’t want to give up the “advantage of being the leader.” Echoing that sentiment, Chris Gabehart said, “These are all really smart race car drivers, and there is a chess match going on inside the approach to the restart zone that every one of them is keenly aware of. They’re not making mistakes.”

Looking at the footage, it’s clear that Hamlin did fire earlier than the white line. However, per Gabehart, every driver is “calculated in what they’re doing, and Denny, as the leader, is trying to counteract all that with the advantage of being able to fire first.” Adding to all the opinions, Gabehart admitted that the jump was “slightly outside of the zone.” However, he clarified against all claims of a penalty with a swift declaration.

“Keep in mind. This is all happening live with four veterans.” Hamlin had Martin Truex Jr right alongside him. Gabehart continued, “They know the situation he is in, and they are calculating based upon it. So, I think the biggest thing I could say is it’s a tough spot that we’re in. It wouldn’t matter if it was the #11 car that was in that position or if we were the #19 or the #22. I would say this exactly the same way, so let me be clear. If you’re going to penalize the #11 car, in that instance, you must also penalize the #19, the #22, and the #5.”

As he continued to flame the fans of controversy, Gabehart added, “They (#19, #22, #5) were all laying back trying to time a run, and that is also something that NASCAR says you cannot do.” He argued that if all of them were to be penalized along with Hamlin, the first car that wasn’t laying back should’ve been the winner. “We’ve got to be careful what we wish for,” concluded the #11 crew chief. What did Hamlin have to say about his restart?

After stating that he didn’t want to give up his advantage as the leader and conceding to jumping the restart, the 53-time Cup race winner defended his actions, explaining, “Many late restarts have been fired really early because, if you wait until you get to the zone, you’ve lost all your advantage to the cars that are around you.”

While Gabehart – who’s been working with Hamlin since 2019 – and the #11 driver believe they did nothing wrong, Dale Earnhardt Jr had a different opinion.

Dale Earnhardt Jr feels NASCAR can’t just let Hamlin’s restart slide

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Denny Hamlin’s reasoning for jumping the restart was not wanting to give up the “advantage of being the leader.” Even NASCAR VP Elton Sawyer seemed to agree in an attempt to clarify the controversy surrounding Richmond’s restart rip-off on FOX. When Sawyer explained the final overtime restart, he opined that Hamlin had indeed “earned the right to be the control vehicle” ahead of teammate, lap leader, and a considerably angry Martin Truex Jr.

On an episode of Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr explained how, since the restart lines have been painted on the track, there’s a defined area before which speeding up isn’t allowed. Referring to Hamlin’s move, he said, “When you do that, along with the wording of the NASCAR rulebook, you have a clear definition of a good or bad restart, and Sunday was a bad restart.” He didn’t stop there, though.

The veteran believes NASCAR needs to react to what happened at Richmond. “They’ve got to come out and say, ‘We didn’t get that one right. He went early. We’ve looked at it; we do believe he went early; we missed the call. The results are staying. But that is a bad restart. That will get you a black flag.’ Whatever they wanna do, they’ve gotta react. They can’t just let it go,” Junior concluded.

From Joey Logano to MTJ himself, Denny Hamlin has received quite a few criticisms, to say the least, as the season gears up for Martinsville. Will the ‘hate’ affect his most recent race win? It seems unlikely as the #11’s charge for championship glory gains steady momentum in 2024.

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