The ROVAL spectacle reached its grand crescendo this weekend, setting the stage for a fierce battle with drivers vying to keep their championship hopes alive. However, the drama leading up to this high-stakes showdown was overshadowed by yet another instance of NASCAR‘s questionable decision-making. The release of the 2024 calendar unleashed chaos and controversy like a bull in a china shop. Denny Hamlin, never one to mince words, had already dubbed the calendar “silly” a few days prior. But in the latest episode of his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin didn’t just scratch the surface; he dug deep, turning over every pebble and sealing the deal with a verdict that left no room for doubt – “not good for the sport.”

NASCAR’s four-year tradition of closing the regular season with the thunderous showdown at Daytona got uprooted. Daytona’s superspeedway acted as a wildcard, where underdogs and rookies had a shot at playoff glory. However, NASCAR took ‘wildcard’ to heart in the 2024 calendar, as it appears to be tossing drivers’ fates to the wind, making the final four at Phoenix feel as though they were chosen by the roll of a dice.

Will 2024 be a racing skill showdown or a high-stakes gamble?

The unveiling of the 2024 NASCAR calendar triggered an uproar among fans, who were not shy about expressing their discontent. The calendar featured several changes, most notably the introduction of the Iowa track. However, what raised eyebrows the most were the addition of two drafting tracks into the playoffs, Atlanta and Talladega, and two road courses, Watkins Glen and ROVAL. The playoffs now seem like an endless series of wildcards.

Hamlin weighed in with a scathing critique. He noted, “So 95% of the time, in the playoff chase format, is that twice as the best overall competitor through the year actually won the championship. It’s always been someone kinda swooping in at the end.” Hamlin pointed to Joey Logano‘s 2022 championship win as a prime example, highlighting the role of luck over consistent performance.

Co-host Jared Allen offered some support for surprise champions, stating, “But the way I look at it, if you get to that final race and one of the guys wins that race, you can justify being the champion.” However, Hamlin, a seasoned contender on the asphalt, understood the heart-wrenching experience of watching one’s skill take a backseat to another’s luck, ultimately costing the championship.

He clarified, “I’m not saying there hasn’t been deserving champions; that is not what I’m saying at all. Because if you make it to the final 4, you got a shot, I get it. I’m just saying you are not testing the driver’s skill. ‘We wanna test the drivers.’ That is such baloney,” dismissing NASCAR Vice President Ben Kennedy’s statement about the calendar.

Kennedy had claimed, “Introducing a drafting-style track like Atlanta to the Round of 16, to follow it up with Watkins Glen and then the Bristol Night Race is really going to test the variability of our drivers and their skills as they think about punching their ticket to the Round of 12.”

The 42-year-old countered by asserting, “They are testing how good our luck is because, as we said a billion times when we go to superspeedway racing, it’s not you that typically messes up; it’s someone else, and it involves you, and that’s not your fault. You were running; you were doing what you were supposed to do on that day. So I’m just saying when they add this in, it just feels like they are really grabbing storylines. ‘We need to knock some big names out early; that’s going to be our storylines.'”

In the end, the 3x Daytona winner’s concern was not just about his own prospects but the future of a sport cherished by millions. He added, “That is not good for the sport.”

Livid Denny Hamlin proposes NASCAR changes – “Have us all run backward in a figure 8”

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Hamlin drove his point home by referring to respected NASCAR reporter Jeff Gluck’s statement regarding the addition of Atlanta as the playoff opener. Gluck had commented, “As if this playoff format wasn’t wacky enough already, let’s throw another complete wild card into the mix to further devalue the championship. No better way to crown a sport’s champion than to throw random roadblocks into the way of the top contenders! If I were a driver, I would be livid about this.”

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Driving the No. 11 for the JGR camp, Hamlin passionately echoed these sentiments, saying, “I share those exact same feelings. And it feels like I must be going crazy because am I the only person seeing that they are continuing to make this gimmicky, gimmicky, and more gimmicky every single year?”

His frustration reached its peak as Hamlin exclaimed, “I mean, they might as well have us all run backward in a figure 8. You know what the champion’s gonna be? Whoever’s got the biggest balls and doesn’t lift in a figure 8 race; that will be our champion. Might as well.”

He emphasized the frustration both as an owner of the 23XI Racing stable and a driver, expressing concerns that the upcoming calendar emphasized survival over skill and perpetuated the dominance of luck in NASCAR. This new objective seemed to be increasing the role of luck, making it a bigger factor in their sport than any other.

With Hamlin, a NASCAR stalwart for nearly 2 decades, raising such poignant concerns, what is your take on the upcoming calendar? Let us know in the comments below.

Sarcastic Denny Hamlin Mocks “Silly” Leadership for Turning NASCAR into “Game of Chance” Amid Massive Schedule Overhaul