Denny Hamlin said he believes the penalty that sent Joey Logano to the rear of Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 was the result of “snitching” from another team – something Hamlin believes is ubiquitous in the NASCAR Cup Series.
On his Harmful actions podcast, Hamlin talked about the race, including the photo finish involving Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez that saw Suarez take a historically close victory.
At the end of the podcast, Hamlin brought up the topic of Logano and the webbed glove that violated a safety rule. “I’m willing to say there was a whistleblower,” Hamlin said. “These teams talk to each other, that’s for sure.”
Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images
Shortly before the start of the race, NASCAR announced that Logano’s No. 22 car had been penalized for violating rule 14.3.1.1 of the NASCAR rule book. Chris Knight of Catchfence later reported that the glove had been “modified in an attempt to gain a potential competitive advantage (by sticking your hand out the window).”
Under NASCAR rules, driver gloves cannot be modified and must have separate sections for each finger and thumb. Logano’s gloves were sewn together in webbing between his thumb and index finger, which was intended to help him reduce drag when he put his hand in front of his window.
NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman said Road and track that drivers will try just about anything to gain a competitive advantage.
“The drivers are simple,” Kligerman told the publication. “If you told us that wearing underwear on our heads would save us a tenth, everyone would wear underwear on their heads.”
On his podcast, Hamlin said NASCAR teams are watching each other closely and won’t hesitate to let authorities know if they see something is wrong. With cameras everywhere, it was unlikely Logano would get away with his violation.
“For those of you who don’t know…they call it a self-monitoring sport because when we sit next to each other and watch videos of other cars, the NASCAR Cup Series is full of snitches,” Hamlin said. . “I mean, everywhere. They talk.
“If they see something that someone is doing that is illegal or circumventing the rule, they will tell the tower immediately. They will send it to John Probst (senior vice president of racing innovation) or to Elton Sawyer (senior vice president of racing innovation). competition) and say, ‘Oh, look at that.’ And they’ll say, ‘Oh, we’ll look at that.'”
Despite his penalties, Logano still had an opportunity to win. A second-lap caution while serving his passing penalty allowed him to minimize the damage, and he led for 27 laps. But on lap 160 of 260, Logano caused disaster by attempting to block Chris Buescher, which eliminated both drivers besides Hamlin.
Logano later admitted he “made a mistake.”
“I thought I could get in. The moment I realized I couldn’t make it, I tried to turn the volume down,” Logano said. “Once he started pumping my right rear, I couldn’t put it down. I clenched, he sucked me into the wall.”
Logano could face further sanctions. He is ranked 33rd in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. Hamlin is ranked 19th.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
