Sports
Hamlin ‘amazed’ incidents like Richmond continue to be allowed
Denny Hamlin had a question of his own when he faced reporters Sunday night at Richmond Raceway after being wrecked by Austin Dillon for the victory.
“Where is the line?” Hamlin responded.
The retort had nothing to do with the location of the finish line. It came instead as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was asked if Dillon should be penalized for his last-lap actions where he made contact with two drivers to win the Cook Out 400. Dillon first hit Joey Logano in Turn 3, which spun Logano from the race lead before he hooked Hamlin off Turn 4.
Hamlin was running on the bottom of the racetrack in a position to drive past Dillon and Logano after the two had their incident. But a right-rear hook delivered to Hamlin sent the No. 11 Toyota into the outside wall and secured the victory for Dillon.
“We have rules to prevent ridiculous acts but it’s been a long time since those rules have been enforced,” Hamlin said. “Didn’t Layne Riggs spin someone out and get a two-lap penalty or some ? This is tough because this is what the young short-track racers see, and they think this is okay because they watch the professionals on Sunday who are supposed to act like adults just do dumb , and it’s just amazing that it’s allowed.
“But I don’t fault him because he’s completely desperate, right? He’s 30th in points, he jumps 20 spots in points, or whatever the hell it is. His season is saved. Now, he’ll have to pay repercussions down the line for this, but it’s so worth it from his standpoint because there are no guardrails or rules that say, ‘Don’t do that.’ And there’s no one in the tower that has any problem with it. So, we’re never ever going to get taken seriously as a sport because we have no real officiating.”
Hamlin had resigned himself to finishing third before he saw how far Dillon drove into the corner on the final lap. At that point, Hamlin knew the Richard Childress Racing driver was “going to do something silly.” It was unfortunate, Hamlin said, to be one of two guys to get wiped out.
The radio communication for Dillon’s team left no doubt the driver was going to do whatever it took to prevail. After the contact with Logano, there was a sentiment of “wreck him” on Dillon’s No. 3 radio as Hamlin got to his inside.
Hamlin became animated upon hearing that and said, “Well then, what are we talking about then? I don’t know. Maybe they address it. I would say not.”
The right rear hook is what Hamlin upset the most. It is a move that has drawn penalties in the past, including when Hamlin was on the receiving end of a right-rear hook from Chase Elliott last year, which resulted in Elliott getting suspended for one race.
Hamlin said hooking another driver is “100%” worse than driving into the back of them.
“I don’t know what the G were, but it crushed me on the right side,” Hamlin said about hitting the wall after the contact from Dillon. “He right rear hooked me, so what do you want me to do?”
Hamlin, his crew chief Chris Gabehart, and other Joe Gibbs Racing personnel visited the NASCAR hauler about the events of the last lap. Afterwards, Hamlin did not want to reveal what was said behind closed doors.
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A former Ferrari engineer has criticised the decision to bring in Lewis Hamilton and thinks the Brit’s presence will mean “a lot of potential for drama”.
At the age of 40, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton will form a formidable driver partnership with Charles Leclerc. His big switch comes at the expense of Carlos Sainz, who has performed well for the Italian squad but who was axed so they had room for their blockbuster new signing.
But not everyone of a Ferrari persuasion is convinced that it will go well. Ernest Knoors, who spent many years as an engineer at Maranello, specialising in power units, worries that Hamilton’s presence could do more harm than good for a team that is finding its groove under Frederic Vasseur.
“A big name like Hamilton also brings a lot of politics and if politics within Ferrari are not managed well, then there is a lot of potential for drama,” he told Formule1.nl. “Hamilton has the tendency that if things do not work out, he turns his whole car upside down and starts experimenting.
“Ferrari believes very much in the big personalities and will follow him. But Hamilton is just someone you have to guide a little bit and not give the freedom to rebuild the whole car, because then it will go completely wrong. So I do not know if it is such a smart move, but of course it is nice for the sport.”
News of Hamilton’s planned move broke on February 1, coinciding with football’s Transfer Deadline Day. That the back pages of many newspapers were dominated by the decision of Hamilton to swap Mercedes for Ferrari was testament to the magnitude of the announcement.
Sainz was not surprised as he had been informed by his team of the plan ahead of it being made public. But the Spaniard responded well with two victories to date this season and five further appearances on the podium, on the way to what looks likely to be a fifth-placed finish in the championship – two spots and 54 points ahead of Hamilton.
Sainz has signed for Williams next year and, after several years of running at the front of the grid, will focus on his new challenge of helping restore one of the grid’s most historic teams to its former glory. But Knoors believes he should have been kept on by Ferrari instead.
The Dutchman added: “I see Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari more as a PR move. With all due respect, Hamilton is not going to take that Ferrari from P6 to P1. He will get the most out of it, but what Ferrari has to do is make that car faster. And if you make that car faster, you can easily drive at the front with the current line-up.
“Besides, as a team you have to look further on the horizon. If Hamilton becomes champion in the coming years, he and Ferrari will become immortal. But if you want to build a team with talent for the next five years, are you going to build on Hamilton? No, because he will really be finished after two or three years. That is why I would have kept the very strong line-up that Ferrari has now.”
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Chase Elliott had a front-row seat for one of NASCAR’s most bizarre moments of the 2024 Cup Series season. At the start of Stage 2, the pace car dove onto pit road in front of Elliott; however, it was a tad too late. The pace car made contact with the sand barrels at the entry of pit road and caused a red flag for cleanup.
Initially, there was some speculation on the NBC Sports broadcast, even from the No. 9 team, that Elliott made contact with the pace car. Fortunately, the pace car didn’t slide across the No. 9 car’s nose, but it undoubtedly provided one of NASCAR’s craziest red flag moments in recent memory.
Below, you can listen to Elliott and the No. 9 team react to the pace car crashing into the sand barrels on pit road at Phoenix during Championship Weekend!
Reflecting on the recent retirement of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt didn’t mince words about the toll NASCAR takes on its drivers. Speaking candidly, the two-time Daytona 500 winner admitted that the pressure to perform every week left him feeling miserable for most of his racing career—a sentiment he believes is shared by many of his peers.
“Right or wrong, racing made me a miserable person 90% of the time,” Earnhardt confessed. “And him too. I mean, ask Kyle Busch, ask anybody—unless you’re winning, you’re not happy.”
For these elite drivers, the sport is a relentless grind. A podium finish might bring temporary relief, but anything short of victory is often a source of frustration. The immense effort poured into preparation and execution rarely feels like it pays off unless the checkered flag is theirs.
Earnhardt highlighted the mental toll of falling short, explaining how the relentless focus on winning can overshadow the joy of simply competing. Even a solid performance feels hollow compared to the euphoria of a win.
“Unless you’re winning, you’re not happy at all,” he said. “You’re okay with a good run, but for the most part, all the effort it takes just to run good—it doesn’t weigh out.”
For drivers, the stakes are sky-high every week. Sponsors, fans, and teams demand nothing less than excellence, leaving little room for error or personal satisfaction in anything less than a dominant performance.
Earnhardt also shared insights into his friendship with Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced his retirement. While the two often spend time hunting together during NASCAR’s off-season, Earnhardt noted that the stress of racing even creeps into their leisure activities.
“When I’m with him during hunting season, it’s always in the back of his mind,” Earnhardt said. “It’s that stressful part of the year when he’s as miserable as he’s going to be.”
Now, with Truex stepping away from the track, Earnhardt looks forward to seeing a lighter, happier version of his long-time friend. Without the weight of weekly competition hanging over him, Truex might finally be able to relax and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle he cherishes.
“It’ll be fun to see him loosen up,” Earnhardt added.
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