Denny Hamlin Calls Out NASCAR & Insinuates Sorry Kyle Larson Issue Wouldn’t Have Happened at Fontana

For the first time in NASCAR’s history, the governing body announced that there would be no practice sessions prior to the Cup Series qualifying or the Daytona 500 qualifying races. And this decision obviously changed a lot at the racing tracks. Explaining how it affected Hendrick Motorsports driver at the Fontana Speedway, Denny Hamlin discussed the effects of the rule.

In an episode of his podcast Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin called out NASCAR for its new no-practice decision. Moreover, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver also predicted an alternate fate for Kyle Larson at Fontana, had the rules for practice sessions not changed. He explained,

“We didn’t have a practice session in 2023. That was a factor, I guess. I mean, maybe Kyle Larson’s team would have found…you know, the electrical issue would have come to them sooner.”

Furthermore, Hamlin revealed that it was not just Larson who faced the consequences of the no-practice decision.

Explaining how many other drivers also faced the repercussions, Hamlin said, “We saw at qualifying at Daytona 500 that some guys had trouble qualifying, you know, because they hadn’t hit the race track yet. So, it is paying its price to those who are not totally prepared. But then again I don’t know that many sports have no practice, no testing, or anything like that before they go try to put on a show.”

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Denny Hamlin on a ‘strategy’ ruining his Daytona 500

Although Denny Hamlin pointed out the lack of practice sessions as the reason behind Kyle Larson’s bad day at Auto Club 400, the same was not true for him at Daytona. On his podcast, after the Daytona 500, Hamlin revealed that he had a great chance of winning the race until the final pitstop cycle. He said, “I came out from the last pitstop in 18th and I basically told Chris [Gabehart, crew chief] ‘we’re ****ed’ – I had nowhere to go. [Before that] I thought I was in the position I needed to be, I was seventh and first non-Ford.”

“So the last pitstop cycle happens and we just… I think we messed up. A handful of Fords pitted, literally five, and then me and Truex pitted by ourselves. I think we ****ed up.”

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Hamlin was driving in the top-5 when he pitted his vehicle along with Toyota team-mate Martin Truex Jr. The original plan for them was to rejoin the tandem. However, Truex needed less gas than anticipated and, as a result, exited the pit way earlier than Hamlin.