Denny Hamlin Confesses to Jumping the Restart at Richmond, but There’s a Catch

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have a brilliant history at Richmond Raceway. Out of 18 total JGR wins on the 0.75-mile short track, Denny Hamlin boasted four wins prior to last night’s race. Martin Truex Jr trailed close behind him, with three wins. Yet the No. 11 driver was not satiated, as he toppled his No. 19 teammate from the lead to snatch the trophy.

Hamlin’s move last night stirred up a boiling pot of controversy in the NASCAR community. Hardcore MTJ fans lashed out at him, accusing him of jumping the restart zone on the final caution, as their hero also claimed. NASCAR acquitted Hamlin of all charges. Hamlin recently admitted to his wrongdoing, albeit with a twist.

Denny Hamlin mocks his haters after Richmond

One of Joe Gibbs’ drivers seemed to rule the Toyota 400 Owners race last night. The most veteran racer in NASCAR at present, Martin Truex Jr, dazzled his fans with his talents behind the wheel. He led 228 of 400 laps throughout the race. But then his hopes for his first-season win came crashing down due to his own teammate’s antics.

Denny Hamlin overpowered both MTJ and Joey Logano in terms of the fastest pit stop. Hamlin’s crew finished installing a new set of tires really fast, and he was back on the road with a 1.3-second lead over Truex and Logano. Many people deemed that Hamlin jumped the restart zone, even as NASCAR claimed otherwise.

The accused himself took to X (Formerly Known as Twitter) recently and addressed the situation with a hilarious catch. “After much consideration, talks with the team and dissecting the SMT data, it is clear that I jumped the start. Because of that, I’ve decided to do the right thing and… wish you a happy April Fools Day!”

Martin Truex Jr might not respond well to this April Fool’s joke. He made his stance doubly clear at the race itself, where he set off post-race fireworks to express his frustration. First, he slammed into Hendrick driver Kyle Larson on the backstretch. Then he caught up to the culprit behind his race lag, bumping Hamlin’s car in the rear three times before heading to pit road.

Although Denny Hamlin fooled around with an April Fool’s joke, the JGR driver elucidated his actions in a post-race interview.

Hamlin utilized his pit team’s talents

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The NASCAR fandom may be claiming that Denny Hamlin rushed to grab the lead in Richmond. Yet his amazing pit team made sure that Hamlin was in the right place at the right time. Hamlin led just 15 laps on Sunday’s night race, but an efficient pit strategy pushed him to the win in the end.

Hamlin admitted to his hurried tactics while acknowledging his team’s efforts. “Yeah, I mean, I went right at it, for sure. I did that because I saw those guys rolling to me. The 22 was laying back. The 19 was rolling a couple miles an hour quicker than I was. I wasn’t going to let them have an advantage that my team earned on pit road. Certainly made sure I went to my nose, got there. But I took off right away. Still, we were side by side down the water into turn one.”

Although the Richmond race was laced with controversy for Denny Hamlin, his fantastic pit team is bound to seal a few more victories this season.

Read More: NASCAR Boast Their Ingenuity As Their Initiative Saves Richmond From a Horrendous End