This year has been full of highs and lows for Denny Hamlin. On second thought, while his highs were not that prominent, his lows were. Ever since the season began, he has been in wrecks and controversies, all the while being on the wrong side of the governing body. In light of all this, his frustration is somewhat justified, whether it is around the race, the cars, or the issue with penalties. 

With 9 races done and dusted, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver hasn’t managed to win one yet. And although he has three top-ten finishes, with the latest coming at the Martinsville Speedway, he is in search for more. That’s why Hamlin wasn’t very happy talking about passing ahead of the drivers being an issue for him at this past Sunday’s race.

Denny Hamlin amuses his fans with a funny story

In a recent episode of ‘Actions Detrimental’, Hamlin took a subtle dig at NASCAR. Talking to his co-host, Jared Allen, Hamlin got into a discussion about a special ‘Purple West’ race at Martinsville which featured Allen himself. Hamlin shared that he had heard that “the slowest individual during qualifying” had spun out, cut half the course, and still earned the faster lap.

To this, Allen replied, “Yeah, Hannah of Stewart Haas Racing. I think that’s what happened.” Since the race was more of a fun event, all the other drivers let Hannah keep pole. 

Hamlin then jokingly asked, “How long does she keep the lead about 20 feet?”

To this, Allen said, “I think I passed her going into turn 2… She did not finish last though. I don’t know if her lap-tops were the slowest, but she did not finish last. So she started on the poll and did not drop all the way to the rear.”

Hamlin, waiting for his moment to get back to his recent comments about ‘passing’ at the Martinsville race, took a dig at NASCAR and said, “Sounds like there’s a lot of passing. That’s encouraging!”

Read More: “Right Rear Hooking Is Not the Way” – Denny Hamlin Condemns Martinsville’s Truck Series Culprit While Siding With NASCAR’s Punishment

What were Denny Hamlin’s concerns post the Martinsville race?

The NOCO 400 race at Martinsville Speedway had made Hamlin frustrated, as he couldn’t make a pass ahead of the other drivers. He later showed his frustration in an interview just after he finished the race. He spoke about the lack of opportunities to overtake with his Next Gen car during the four hundred laps race that lasted close to three hours.

In a video posted by Noah Lewis on YouTube, Hamlin was seen ranting out his frustrations.

After being asked to compare this year’s Martinsville race to last year’s, he said, “It was worse. I just can’t pass, I mean 30-40 lap tires, and you can’t just stay up front, cars that I was lapping, you know they are still in the front, you know they just came passing so we had to figure out.”

Watch This Story: “No Clue How That Is a Penalty” – Kyle Busch Exposes NASCAR’s “Contradictory” Side After Being Left in Disbelief of Denny Hamlin’s Controversial Verdict

The JGR driver doesn’t hold back when it comes to sharing his opinions, but this time it did not go well with fans as they were left wondering, “if the crew gets tired of him complaining.”