Denny Hamlin had a query of his personal when he confronted reporters Sunday evening at Richmond Raceway after being wrecked by Austin Dillon for the victory.
“The place is the road?” Hamlin responded.
The retort had nothing to do with the placement of the end line. It got here as a substitute because the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was requested if Dillon ought to be penalized for his last-lap actions the place he made contact with two drivers to win the Cook dinner Out 400. Dillon first hit Joey Logano in Flip 3, which spun Logano from the race lead earlier than he hooked Hamlin off Flip 4.
Hamlin was operating on the underside of the racetrack ready to drive previous Dillon and Logano after the 2 had their incident. However a right-rear hook delivered to Hamlin despatched the No. 11 Toyota into the skin wall and secured the victory for Dillon.
“Now we have guidelines to forestall ridiculous acts but it surely’s been a very long time since these guidelines have been enforced,” Hamlin stated. “Didn’t Layne Riggs spin somebody out and get a two-lap penalty or some [expletive]? That is powerful as a result of that is what the younger short-track racers see, and so they assume that is okay as a result of they watch the professionals on Sunday who’re purported to act like adults simply do dumb [expletive], and it’s simply wonderful that it’s allowed.
“However I don’t fault him as a result of he’s fully determined, proper? He’s thirtieth in factors, he jumps 20 spots in factors, or regardless of the hell it’s. His season is saved. Now, he’ll should pay repercussions down the road for this, but it surely’s so value it from his standpoint as a result of there aren’t any guardrails or guidelines that say, ‘Don’t do this.’ And there’s nobody within the tower that has any drawback with it. So, we’re by no means ever going to get taken critically as a sport as a result of we’ve got no actual officiating.”
Hamlin had resigned himself to ending third earlier than he noticed how far Dillon drove into the nook on the ultimate lap. At that time, Hamlin knew the Richard Childress Racing driver was “going to do one thing foolish.” It was unlucky, Hamlin stated, to be one in all two guys to get worn out.
The radio communication for Dillon’s group left little question the motive force was going to do no matter it took to prevail. After the contact with Logano, there was a sentiment of “wreck him” on Dillon’s No. 3 radio as Hamlin bought to his inside.
Hamlin turned animated upon listening to that and stated, “Nicely then, what are we speaking about then? I don’t know. Perhaps they [NASCAR] handle it. I’d say not.”
The suitable rear hook is what Hamlin upset essentially the most. It’s a transfer that has drawn penalties prior to now, together with when Hamlin was on the receiving finish of a right-rear hook from Chase Elliott final yr, which resulted in Elliott getting suspended for one race.
Hamlin stated hooking one other driver is “100%” worse than driving into the again of them.
“I don’t know what the G [forces] have been, but it surely crushed me on the fitting facet,” Hamlin stated about hitting the wall after the contact from Dillon. “He proper rear hooked me, so what would you like me to do?”
Hamlin, his crew chief Chris Gabehart, and different Joe Gibbs Racing personnel visited the NASCAR hauler in regards to the occasions of the final lap. Afterwards, Hamlin didn’t need to reveal what was stated behind closed doorways.
