Denny Hamlin wins a race and it goes without a controversy, is that possible? Not at all. Folks wondered, could Martin Truex Jr have taken the win if Hamlin had been penalized for his pit road shenanigans? While we can only guess, NASCAR’s VP finally shed some light on why Hamlin got off without a penalty. But that wasn’t without a serious heads-up from NASCAR about his future on-track behavior.

Did Denny Hamlin skate by on a NASCAR loophole to win the Richmond race?

Denny Hamlin pulled off a win in the NASCAR Cup Series race, leaving his teammate Martin Truex Jr, who was leading the pack for more than 200 laps, in the dust. But the gossip was all about whether Hamlin went a bit too fast and loose on the last restart with his #11 car. NASCAR decided to take a closer look into the matter.

In a chat after the race, NASCAR’s VP of Competition, Elton Sawyer, tackled the buzz around Hamlin’s supposed jump on that final restart. He admitted it got the fans riled up. After digging into it, NASCAR concluded what happened was in the ballpark of the rules and let Hamlin keep his victory.

However, as per his recent talks on SiriusXM NASCAR, Sawyer actually was seen tilting a bit towards how not penalizing Denny Hamlin could have been a mistake on their part. After giving it another look, it seemed Hamlin might’ve jumped the gun at the restart.

He mentioned, “And as I looked at it yesterday, again, multiple times, there’s no doubt he rolled early. And again it’s a bang-bang call it’s at the end of the race You know, we’re a live sporting event. We don’t have the… luxury of a timeout and go to the sideline and review it and make that call. If this happens at lap 10 or 50 or 300 you know, the call could have been different.”

But Sawyer didn’t just let Hamlin off without a heads-up, saying, “If I’m a competitor I wouldn’t be playing that game every week. Sometimes you get the call that goes in your favors.” 

Even Hamlin seemed to own up to jumping the restart at Richmond, though he said it was just to keep a bit ahead. So, after NASCAR cleared Hamlin initially, did his own admission on his podcast prompt NASCAR officials to admit their new stance publicly?

#11 owned up to jumping the gun a tad bit early on that final restart

Denny Hamlin spilled the beans on his podcast, hitting us with a “I went pretty early in the zone,” and letting that hang in the air. The moment, in a way, pointed fingers at NASCAR for missing the call.

But Hamlin didn’t just drop a bomb and bail. He laid out his side of the story. According to him, NASCAR’s been pretty chill about how drivers take on the restart box. He argued that if NASCAR got strict, a whole bunch of wins would need a do-over. When it’s crunch time, everyone knows the drill in the Cup Series.

Hamlin further dove into what it’s like in the driver’s seat, explaining the strategy behind timing your start. He said that if you’re predictable, the guy behind you might jump you. 

So, what’s your take? Did Hamlin fair and square hit that Richmond win?

Read More: Denny Hamlin ‘Concedes’ to Jumping Richmond Restart Albeit to Stay ‘A Few Feet’ Ahead