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Denny Hamlin Once Again Calls Out the Hypocrisy of the NASCAR Community Amidst Ross Chastain-AJ Allmendinger Controversy at COTA

Published 03/29/2022, 4:55 AM EDT

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Count Denny Hamlin in the list of drivers trying to shift the way certain things are looked at in the sport. A late-race move by Ross Chastain spun leader AJ Allmendinger and left him in no-man’s-land, yet it was deemed ‘ok’ by many.

But Hamlin had other opinions. In fact, he recently called out the hypocrisy of this judgment by the NASCAR community.

His tweet, in reaction to the post-race conference of the race winner Ross Chastain, read, “In 2017 it wasn’t ok. In todays world. “High stakes” “do whatever it takes” “playoffs on the line” blah blah, it’s all fair game. The game has changed and it’s just expected now. Everyone runs over everyone. Doesn’t matter if it’s for 1st or 10th.”

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This led Nate Ryan, of NBC Sports, to “agree” with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver with one exception.

“There are endless examples since the playoffs began of “whatever it takes” as justification for wins/playoff spots. What is changing: how ethics are applied and executed by a generation raised with new skillsets and attitudes,” Ryan added.

“Well then we must acknowledge that whether it’s ok or not in the public eye is directly correlated to who it happens to,” called out Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin, the NASCAR driver, co-owner, and track advocate

Journalist Jenna Fryer had posted a Twitter thread highlighting the conditions at Texas Motor Speedway irrespective of whether IndyCar races there or NASCAR.

Her thread contained constructive criticism of the track facilities and their overall state, which made Denny Hamlin jump into the discourse.

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“That part isn’t ok. Tracks make a killing and need to be held to higher standards instead of putting money in their pockets,” read one of Hamlin’s replies.

USA Today via Reuters

So when Fryer concluded her thread with a sarcastic question, “Remember when Big Hoss was the greatest invention of at-track fan experience?“, Hamlin replied, “I do. But this has to stop.. tracks are taking all of the money yet not reinvesting in back into their facilities.”

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“If the teams showed up with fenders ripped off and junk pit equipment/pit boxes NASCAR would have a serious problem with that. Why can’t we treat the tracks the same (?)”

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Written by:

Shaharyar Khan Chauhan

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Shaharyar is an F1 & NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Journalism from Amity University, he has been a passionate follower of motorsports for a better part of the decade. A Max Verstappen and Ferrari supporter, he dreams of a pairing of the two in future.
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Edited by:

Ankit Sharma