Denny Hamlin was fined $50,000 and docked 25 driver points.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was penalized by NASCAR on Wednesday for his deliberate contact with Ross Chastain late in last weekend’s Cup Series race at Phoenix.
Following the incident Monday, Hamlin spoke on his podcast “Actions Detrimental” hosted by Dirty Mo Media, and declared the move was intentional and also a measure of revenge for previous run-ins the two drivers have had on the track.
“What a crock of sh*t” – Fans weigh in on Denny Hamlin’s 25 driver points deduction
NASCAR senior VP of competition Elton Sawyer, said Hamlin’s comments on the podcast led to him being penalized.
“When you look (the incident between Hamlin and Chastain) this past weekend, we would have viewed that as a racing incident, but then 24 hours later to have a competitor that has gone on a podcast … (and) you start admitting that you have intentionally done something that would compromise the results of the end of the race, then that rises to the level that we’re going to get involved.”
“There’s no other way to look at that. We’re going to get involved in those situations. We’ve been consistent in the past with that, and we will be consistent going forward.”
Many fans in the NASCAR world were left amazed by the severity of the penalty that NASCAR issued to Denny Hamlin.
Denny Hamlin opens up via Twitter on his decision to appeal the penalty issued by NASCAR.
“After much consideration I’ve decided that I will appeal the decision by NASCAR to penalize me. – Hamlin tweeted.”
“What happened on Sunday was common hard racing that happens each and every weekend. There was also no manipulation of the race nor actions detrimental to the sport.”
After much consideration I’ve decided that I will appeal the decision by NASCAR to penalize me.
What happened on Sunday was common hard racing that happens each and every weekend. There was also no manipulation of the race nor actions detrimental to the sport.— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 17, 2023
Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain were seen talking after the race Sunday for several minutes.