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Exclusive on NASCAR Rule: Denny Hamlin Proven Right on “Snitches” as Driver Exploits Strange Rule at Talladega

Published 04/26/2024, 5:50 AM CDT

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“The NASCAR Cup Series is full of snitches,” is what the 23XI Racing co-owner had to say about Joey Logano getting caught red-handed with a glove modification at the Ambetter Health 400. And, in another similar incident, over the race weekend at Talladega, the EssentiallySports and Fan Controlled Sports + Entertainment sub-brand, Lucky Dog on Track, faced a unique dilemma after being kicked out of the trailer park owing to a ‘snitch’ ratting the #14 team to the NASCAR officials.

As Hamlin’s intuitions about the Cup Series snitches proved to be right, the community tried to figure out just who was responsible for the Lucky Dog’s off-track misery. But now, thanks to EssentiallySports partners’ Exclusive Interview coming from Fan Controlled Racing and No. 14’s crew chief, Jason Miller, we know just what went down on that fateful night under the few lights at Talladega Superspeedway.

Here’s who might’ve rained on the Lucky Dog + Fan Controlled Sports parade at Talladega!

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Only recently, Joey Logano was in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons at Atlanta Motor Speedway. As the attention was on the iconic photo finish, Logano was slapped with a penalty for an illegal modification to his gloves that allowed him to reduce drag by covering the window gaps. Though the team had been rather discrete with the implementation of their innovation, Denny Hamlin had revealed his suspicions over a ‘whistleblower’ likely spoiling the Penske party.

Fast-forward to last weekend at Talladega, and the Fan-Controlled team faced major hurdles off the track owing to similar reasons. You see, the Lucky Dog on Track and FCR crew had stayed back in the trailer park on Mason Massey’s RV, hoping to wait it out as the good news of the #14’s last-minute qualification broke. Naturally, the team may have gotten a little too rowdy with the celebrations, prompting NASCAR to kick them out of the trailer park.

Though fans immediately began to speculate which entity was responsible for reporting the Lucky Dog and Fan Controlled crew, the answer came soon enough from the #14’s veteran crew chief. As various names were flung around, Jason Miller sidelined them all to reveal exclusive insider information, saying, “Somebody, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but somebody, they said it was Michael McDowell, that kind of complained about it. I heard it was Michael, I don’t know how true that is. I cannot confirm that but when I see Michael I’m going to ask him.”

It turns out that the answer could be one that no one was expecting. Though not confirmed, Miller revealed that Michael McDowell was allegedly the snitch that rained on the Lucky Dog on Track and Fan-Controlled parade in the Talladega trailer park. Speaking of which, whilst Denny Hamlin was talking about the on-track shenanigans when referring to the ‘snitches’ in Logano’s case earlier, it isn’t too far-fetched after Miller’s revelation to believe there are many of them off the track too!

Although it’s safe to say that the #14 crew’s excitement may have gotten them into trouble, what was the exact reason that got the Fan Controlled crew kicked out of the trailer park but allowed back in on foot?

Here’s the ‘hidden’ rule which cost the FCR and Lucky Dog on Track team

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After the FCSE + LDOT team had been escorted off the track by the NASCAR ‘police’, the crew members were oddly allowed to enter the speedway. A team member stated, “Oddly, we just had to move our RV off, but then we were allowed to come back. We’re back, baby. Let’s roll.” But why was the team asked to leave the trailer park in the first place?

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Jason Miller shared an exclusive insight into one of NASCAR’s lesser-known, albeit strange, rules. In an Exclusive Interview with EssentiallySports’ Lucky Dog x FCR interview, Miller said, “The bad thing is that it was Mason’s motor home and Mason only lived an hour from there, so he decided that he was just gonna go home, and the guys were gonna hang out there, and it didn’t work out. Because there is a rule that says that the driver must stay in his motor home.”

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According to the #14 crew chief, NASCAR rulebooks contain a lesser-known condition stating that a driver cannot leave his motor home unattended with others if parked at a race track. With that revelation, it became clear that it wasn’t the crew’s rowdiness alone that got them kicked out.

That being said, the #14 team couldn’t have asked for a better day on track, with Mason Massey bringing home a stellar P11 finish to seal a successful fan-controlled weekend.

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Written by:

Kabir Bajaj Ahmed

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Kabir Bajaj Ahmed is an F1 & NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Known for his storytelling and extensive research skills, he has covered multiple stories on Dale Earnhardt Jr and his legendary dad, allowing readers to relive the thunderous days of 'The Intimidator'. Being a racer himself, Kabir can resonate with the motorsport world better than most.
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Edited by:

Ariva Debnath