Denny Hamlin Gets the Last Laugh as NASCAR Fans Tear Into Marcus Smith’s Tattered North Wilkesboro Defense

Although Denny Hamlin admitted that he regrets the ‘online beef‘ with the SMI boss Marcus Smith, it seems he was spot on. The disagreement kicked off after Hamlin criticized SMI for not reinvesting enough in their tracks and pointed out what he saw as unfair money distribution between the teams, tracks, and SMI.

The controversy stirred up plenty of discussions. On his podcast, the #11 driver shared his remorse over how things escalated. However, recent developments at the North Wilkesboro race track could be seen as a validation of Hamlin’s initial criticisms.

Denny Hamlin’s concerns seem right 

RFK Racing recently shared a post showing team owners inspecting the asphalt at North Wilkesboro, complete with photos. The first photo captured Chris Buescher checking the asphalt’s strength, and the third showed his boss, Brad Keselowski, pointing out features of the track. But it was the second photo, featuring Buescher, Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and others scrutinizing the track, that caught fans’ eyes. A noticeable patch on the asphalt suggested recent repairs. But Why does this matter?

The North Wilkesboro track had been freshly paved, yet reports surfaced earlier that parts of this new surface were breaking up already. Denny Hamlin, never one to hold back, sparked debate with an X post aimed at SMI president Marcus Smith, hinting at budget issues with track maintenance: “When paving on a budget goes wrong. North Wilkesboro will be next.” It seems his warning is starting to ring true.

In fact, the dispute with Smith began when Hamlin commented on a NASCAR Reddit post showing new pavement peeling up at Turn 11 of Sonoma Raceway, which led to the cancellation of SRO America testing there—one of the 11 tracks managed by Speedway Motorsports. Denny Hamlin has pointed out that despite SMI’s significant revenue intake, their investment in track maintenance seems lacking. He also noted that SMI revitalized North Wilkesboro using some COVID relief funds from the government.

Now, with visible patches on North Wilkesboro’s surface, it seems Hamlin’s criticisms about SMI’s lack of proper investment in their tracks are validated. Even fans could see the absurd patch-fixing done by SMI on the racetrack.

Disappointed NASCAR fans openly call out Marcus Smith, while supporting the JGR star

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Looking specifically at the second picture of RFK Racing’s post, fans’ comment was just the approval that Denny Hamlin might have needed. Supporting Hamlin’s claims, one fan commented, “From what Denny said on his pod, North Wilkesboro was one of the reasons he went off on Marcus. He mentioned there were whispers of problems during the tire test. Also threw in some comments about having to redo parts of Atlanta before race day in ‘22. Sonoma was just the match for him to light up their entire recent repave history. He was definitely alluding to other tracks like this in that exchange.”

Another one reiterated what Denny Hamlin had been saying on his podcast stating, “They definitely blew it with Sonoma Wouldn’t be surprised if they did this with the other tracks, but who they contracted out to do the repave of Sonoma has a bad, bad rep around here Not surprised they were the lowest bidder.”

One fan simply called out SMI openly exposing their fake promises- “Calling it now SMI: manages to ruin North Wilkesboro with a garbage repave Also SMI: “We tried going back to Wilkesboro but it just didn’t work out.”

One enthusiast was all about “Its denny time” while another said that he is not a fan of Denny Hamlin’s but, he respects Denny Hamlin voicing these issues: “I’m no fan of Denny as a driver. But as an owner and voice in the sport, I’m glad he calls out shit like this. It’s just inexcusable.”

A fan keeping the score said, “Denny 1, Marcus 0.” Another predicted that the way SMI is working, the tracks will have worse conditions than ever: “Y’all sh*t on Denny for calling SMI out about crappy repaves, but here we are. It’s a trend for their tracks. This pavement will have more patches in 5 years (if not another repave) than the old pavement did in 40.”

Did you initially agree with Denny Hamlin, or were you skeptical till these pictures emerged? Let us know in the comments below.