Denny Hamlin Gives the Ultimate Solution to NASCAR’s “Bad Look” as He Goes “Out on a Limb”

Published 04/01/2023, 11:41 PM EDT

There are many instances in sports where because of one event, the image of the sport goes for a toss. Something similar was recently experienced by viewers in the Cup race at the Circuit of The Americas. The wrecks, the rule-breaking, and the cautions, all contributed to it. Some drivers got bumped more in the course of a single race than in an entire season.

The triple overtime in the race was a major disappointment in the NASCAR community, especially because of the restarts which have the potential to flip the outcome upside down. 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin recently opened up about such situations and had some interesting opinions.

Denny Hamlin wants NASCAR to modify some rules

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Denny Hamlin expressed his disappointment with the recent Cup Series race. He said, “I personally think, it’s a bad look. […] It shouldn’t take an hour to run the last two laps of the race, green flag laps of the race. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say maybe we should explore single-file restarts.”

Hamlin cited an example where NASCAR changed the rules mid-race, he said, “Don’t act like our series is not afraid to change the rules in the middle of the race. They did during the dirt race couple of years ago.”

The intentional contacts and wrecks were such that former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen found it stupid to drive in NASCAR. Hamlin revealed, “We can’t be trusted. I mean Kimi Raikkonen at the airport says, ‘it’s stupid, we bump our cars, it’s ridiculous.’ Like that’s what he said, you know. So, I know he’s just like, ‘it’s not good.'”

Hamlin emphasized how drivers inexperienced in NASCAR racing encounter a lot of problems and also become the reason for others’ problems, causing them to use alternatives that might not entice the fans. He said, “Jordan Taylor, I watched him, that guy hit everything but the lottery.

“Every car he got around, he was laying into them. Now, I didn’t see what happened earlier in the race. Maybe he got used up and was like, ‘Oh, fine, this is how you all do this?’

“But Jordan ran into me so many times and I finally was like, man if I get back to him I’m just gonna have to move him out of the way as well. So, it’s just what we’re doing nowadays.”

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Double-file restarts portray high uncertainty and can manipulate the outcome, causing disappointment in the community. However, Denny has something to suggest that might solve the problem.

How will Hamlin’s proposed solution work?

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It frustrates the drivers when they are dominating the race and lose their dominance because of someone else’s blunder. The triple overtime, followed by double-file restarts put the race at a huge risk of a completely unexpected outcome. This could have helped undeserving drivers win the race.

Hamlin suggests going for single-file restarts will help curb the problem. Single-file restarts allow the lap leaders to lead the race. It is quite useful as it prevents manipulation of the outcome of the race, making it more thrilling.

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Hamlin’s suggestion promises better races in the future. But it’s up to NASCAR authorities to implement it. Will the restoration of single-file restarts reduce the possibility of unwarranted outcomes? Share your thoughts in comments below.

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Written by:

Aneesh Gupta is a NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports. It was his fascination with the automobile and engineering world that made him fall in love with motorsports in the first place. Having grown up seeing movies like Days of Thunder and The Last American Hero only cemented his passion for the American Stock car racing series.

Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal

Denny Hamlin Gives the Ultimate Solution to NASCAR’s “Bad Look” as He Goes “Out on a Limb”

Denny Hamlin wants NASCAR to modify some rules

How will Hamlin’s proposed solution work?

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