Denny Hamlin Publicly Shames NASCAR Track’s “Awful” Decision to Silence Drivers

Hickory Motor Speedway recently announced two new addendums to its rule book. Inspired by the incidents that occurred on March 11, 2023, during the Late Model Stock division race, a written tire parity policy and a social media policy have been added to the book. And it looks like many NASCAR fans, including Denny Hamlin, aren’t quite thrilled about it.

On March 11, drivers Landon Huffman and Doug Barnes were involved in a crash. Hence, both of them were unable to meet the 20-lap threshold, as they could not get back to the race with their damaged cars. However, when the two drivers got their cars repaired and were ready to start the second feature, they were not permitted to race. The track officials cited an unwritten tire parity rule as the reason why the two drivers could not go on to the next race.

Although the track owners insisted that tire parity was already a widely understood rule for the teams, recently, they decided to finally add it since there was no written directive.

However, the social media behavior policy was a new addition that many believe was a result of Landon Huffman and Doug Barnes’s decision to share their stories on their YouTube channels.

Why is Denny Hamlin upset by the announcement?

Taking a lesson from the incident, the Speedway announced the two addendums, which unsurprisingly did not sit well with the fans as well as NASCAR drivers. Upset by why these rules were not mentioned when the team was tirelessly repairing the vehicles to prepare them for the next feature, many criticized the Speedway for its questionable decisions.

Moreover, surprised by the social media policy, many saw this as an attempt to silence drivers by restricting them from sharing their side of the story. Calling it an ‘awful business decision,’ Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin wrote,

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Here’s a glimpse of the new rules

According to the information shared by Matt Weaver, the first rule covers crashes that knock a driver out of a race during the first half of a twin feature. As per the rule, specifically in the case of a Twin 40s format, cars that do not run for at least 20 laps for the first feature will be allowed to purchase four scuffed tires to be eligible for the second feature.

Furthermore, the rule also states that in an event of a cut or flat tire during the first feature, teams are permitted to replace that tire with its own stock. However, a purchase of an equal number of scuffs from the tire barn is necessary for the team to qualify for the next feature, even after replacing the tire with the team’s own stock.

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As for the second rule, the Speedway requires ‘professional behavior’ from all drivers, track management officials, employees and others while at the track, on speedway grounds, or on social media.