Sunday will be a memorable day in the Cup Series history as the competition witnesses its first-ever race at Iowa Speedway. Most certainly, it will be an interesting affair with the 7/8ths-mile-tri-oval considered one of the most challenging short tracks in the country. However, Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate seem to be unhappy with the setup.

Undoubtedly, there’s plenty of excitement with the inaugural race at Iowa. Having said that, the repaving activities have left many disappointed with the readiness of the track. Since the track was built in 2006, it is the first time that it has been repaved. However, Hamlin and his colleagues looked unimpressed with NASCAR’s setup for Sunday.

Denny Hamlin slams NASCAR for not maintaining standards at Iowa Speedway

It is no secret how unpopular repaves are among the fans and the drivers. After all, the smooth surface more often than not leads to single-groove racing with not much tire wear. Eventually, this restricts the passing opportunities, thus making the race less entertaining.

Currently, the Iowa Speedway has been partially repaved. While NASCAR confirmed last October about the repaving activities, the full activity couldn’t take place. With three months of winter playing a key role in that, the governing body had no option but to partially repave the track.

Some of the notable changes involved the presence of a fresh coat of asphalt at the entrance and exit of turns two and four. However, Denny Hamlin didn’t look one bit amazed with it. In the recent episode of his podcast “Actions Detrimental” and as reported by on3.com, he said, “It [The track] does not look great.”

Hamlin further expressed his frustration with NASCAR. He said, “It’s one lane on the bottom and then it’s a partial lane up top. So, you’re telling me that you ran out of time because over the course of a day that it would have taken you to move the top lane paving from the beginning of the corner to the end, you didn’t have time for that? I don’t know.”

From there on, Hamlin couldn’t help but vent out his disappointment with the ruling body. He said, “It shows where NASCAR is a little different. We don’t have standards when it comes to facilities. We have standards but they’re very, very loose. And they’re not — we don’t have surface standards or anything like that and I don’t buy the fact that we ran out of time and it’s too cold. Like, they literally just patched this thing up.”

Speaking on similar lines, Hamlin’s JGR teammate Christopher Bell criticized the track as well. Interestingly, Bell was involved in the tire test at the end of May this year. Recently, speaking to Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass, he said, “I mean it’s just completely ruined the corners and it’s going to make it a one-way race track.”

Bell added, “I mean they have been telling us after a year ever since they announced that Iowa was going to be on the Cup schedule, NASCAR was informing us they were going to do patch jobs and then repaving the bottom, half of the corners is going to make it where the top half is completely unuseful but even the second groove you move up to try and get grip and with the new asphalt there’s not anything to move up, so it’s definitely going to be a different race.”

While the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers raised their concerns about the Iowa track, NASCAR suggested there’s no reason to worry.

NASCAR remains positive about Iowa Speedway despite driver’s concerns

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There is no doubt that NASCAR has faced severe criticisms with the races at short track this year. While passing has been a concern, it hasn’t been as entertaining. While the excitement and expectations for the Iowa Speedway remain huge, concerns from Denny Hamlin and other drivers could result in disappointment.

However, NASCAR’s senior Vice President Elton Sawyer is confident of a positive outcome on Sunday. As reported by Racer.com, he said, “Aesthetically, it looks a little different than what we would normally go into a facility (and see). But we’re confident the repairs are to a high level, and it’s not going to be an issue and we’re still going to have some multi groove racing around the racetrack.”

In fact, he even added how repaving the track was not even in NASCAR’s plans when the announcement was made last October. He said, “The one thing that over time that with this facility, obviously the winters are hard there in Iowa, and it took a toll on the surface. Our goal all along when we announced this race back in October of last year was to not repave.”

While Sawyer laid out NASCAR’s side of reality for repaving, it remains to be seen how it turns out on Sunday. Most certainly, all eyes will be on Denny Hamlin and his post-race interview.