Daytona certainly lived up to its reputation for chaos. The race saw multiple “Big Ones” take out some of the top Cup Series contenders, while unexpected drivers surged to the front. With cars flipping into the wall and smashing into each other at odd angles, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a spectacle of wild entertainment. But does all this madness really satisfy hardcore fans?

Denny Hamlin has his doubts. Looking back, he reminisces about a time when fans enjoyed the natural progression of a driver’s season. Nowadays, a Daytona race feels like a stark contrast, with NASCAR placing a greater emphasis on entertainment rather than pure racing.

Change affecting the integrity, Denny Hamlin says

NASCAR has evolved over the years in many ways. The turn of the 21st century saw the sport experiencing its golden era—but also a slew of changes. In 2004, with a multi-billion-dollar network TV deal, the sport expanded out of its roots. Roping in fresher audiences expanded the objectives of the sport and accommodated more and more entertainment. Even Dale Earnhardt, arguably the greatest plate racer in history, hated the wreck-spurring pack racing at Daytona International Speedway.

Denny Hamlin also harbors a similar view. On the Actions Detrimental, he harped on how older fans do not like the ‘entertainment’ racing that we saw at Daytona or Richmond. “We’ve just evolved into entertainment, and I understand that. I just need to see more hard data that proves that going this way that we’ve gone over the last decade has increased ratings…Someone has to prove that to me. Because certainly, you know, you see on social media, the hardcore fans saying ‘what the heck’ when it comes to…it.”

What we say at Daytona was unexpected and wild, as Harrison Burton shocked fans with his first career victory in a wildcard progression of events. Yet Denny Hamlin prefers to see the steady progress in points throughout the season, a feat that Martin Truex Jr. is an exemplary figure of.

Voicing his opinion on how unexpected Daytona could be right ahead of the playoffs, Hamlin said, “It’s up to us to either go win or be so exceptionally good that you’re Martin Truex, right? He hasn’t won, but he’s been good enough to where he’s gonna get into the playoffs the old-fashioned way, that is, being good enough in points. So there’s multiple avenues to do it. But you just know at these superspeedways, you can have this type of winners that come out of the blue.” 

The wreck-loving maneuver indeed played out in Richmond as well, a non-superspeedway. Austin Dillon turned heads with his brutal bump-and-runs and also got penalized for it. Ultimately, it created a load of publicity and entertainment, good for NASCAR’s business. People protested against this objective even two decades ago, as Denny Hamlin did now.

When fans wanted the sport to stay at home

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NASCAR was primarily a Southeast phenomenon, with stock-car racing being a part of Southeastern heritage. So in 2004, people publicly protested the sport’s expansion into other parts of the country.

For instance, Gov. Mike Easley of North Carolina went so far as to race three laps at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in North Carolina. This was to keep the annual All-Star Race over there. Then Robert Grissom, a diehard fan from NC, told The New York Times in 2004 how he wanted the Southern 500 to stay in Darlington. “It’s been here for 50 years. It’s one of the oldest tracks here.”

Ultimately, the Darlington track did remain on the Cup Series schedule, even as Lowe’s track went out. Back then, NASCAR president Mike Helton denounced these protests. ”I’m sorry they feel that way because I think there’s no form of sports, certainly not in motorsports, that understands, relies on, and believes in its tradition and heritage as does NASCAR. But you look at the concentration of races in the southeastern part of the United States and the lack of their ability to sell all the tickets because of the saturation of the events. It doesn’t mean we’re forsaking tradition or giving up on our heritage. In order to grow the sport beyond where it is today, we need to make smart decisions and I think the results will speak for themselves.”

That sounds very similar to how a NASCAR executive would argue today. As Martin Truex Jr. and even Denny Hamlin may be headed toward retirement, the old form of the sport may be gone for good.