Amid Bristol Penalty, Denny Hamlin Explains NASCAR’s Lesser-Known Way of Handling Out Pit Road Penalties

Denny Hamlin was one of the best-performing drivers at Darlington and Kansas but failed to win either of the races. Denny started the Bristol race strong, and it looked like he would finally earn that elusive victory. However, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver was hit with a penalty not too long after the start and dropped to the back of the pack. Hamlin’s fans might have thought that it was going to be another near-miss like the two previous races, but the veteran drove back to the top of the field and took the win.

The victory meant that Denny Hamlin had sealed his place in round 12 of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series. He might have gotten through with the points he had, but it was a much-needed win for the JGR icon to go into Texas with confidence. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been in red-hot form since the playoffs began and has cemented himself as one of the strongest title contenders.

Denny Hamlin sheds light on his Bristol Penalty

Speaking with Jared Allen on a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, No. 11 shed some light on the nature of the penalty and how NASCAR interprets when a driver is in the wrong.

Denny Hamlin was penalized for speeding in the pit lane in the early stages of the Bristol race, which saw him drop to the back of the pack. However, the JGR driver made his way back to the front to take an impressive victory at the end of the day.

The 42-year-old explained how NASCAR determines when a driver is speeding in the pit lane, and it is not necessarily with a device that measures speed.

“NASCAR warns us of that, those who don’t know it, they do time you, they don’t actually have a radar gun out there pointing your pit road speed. They don’t have a police officer there checking all that, they just do it off of time, you know. It’s a time and distance thing that they do and if you short-cut a radius, like if it’s a circle,” Denny said.

“You’re gonna go from point A to point B faster,” quipped his friend and co-host Jared Allen.

“Quicker, right? And so when I was running my pit road speed there, I was running my lights correctly but I kept, I was too low, basically, and it caused me to speed,” Hamlin concluded.

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It has been a long wait for Denny Hamlin and the #11 crew to finally be on Victory Lane. After the success at Bristol, Denny was asked about his relationship with his crew chief Chris Gabehart by journalist Jordan Bianchi on The Teardown podcast. The veteran racer indulged in the nature of his relationship with his crew chief and it is nothing short of what you’d expect from someone as competitive and dedicated as Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin reveals a competitive relationship with the crew chief

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It was Jordan Bianchi who raised the point that Hamlin and Gabehart differ from one another in a lot of respects, but they have always been on the same wavelength whenever #11 is racing on the track.

“We’re different, but we are very similar too. Like I mean, on weeks like Kansas or Darlington. I mean I am pissed but I’m like, ‘Damn it! I’m a competitor’ and he feels it like I feel it. I hate a crew chief that sugarcoats a bunch of s**t. (…) He don’t want to console me. It’s… we work in that way. We’re competitors, we’re fiery competitors,” Denny Hamlin answered.

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Hamlin is currently one of the strongest favorites going into the round of 12, and it does not seem like his fantastic run is slowing down. Will the championship-less veteran finally get his hands on the coveted Cup Series trophy? Let us know what you think.