Denny Hamlin has finally addressed the final lap crash at Ambetter Health 400 that deprived many of his colleagues a shot at glory. Unsurprisingly, fingers were pointed after the race, and now, Hamlin has also joined the conversation.
Denny Hamlin Refuses To Blame Anyone for the Crash
Speaking on “Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin,” the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion revealed that he did not believe anyone could be blamed for the crash.
“It stinks it ends that way, but again, nobody made us crash each other. It just..it happened!” Hamlin said.
The sixth-placed driver acknowledged that he could have gotten a better result had the crash not occurred, but Hamlin just sees it as a misfortune.
“It stinks because we probably were in for another three-wide finish. But all I can add, if you are a race fan, just close your eyes, picture that there was a..right when the caution light came on, there was a start-finish line there. So, we actually did have a three-wide finish; it just was in an invisible spot,” Hamlin laughed.
Hamlin Defends NASCAR’s Caution Decision
The inconsistency of NASCAR’s caution flags has drawn significant backlash, but Hamlin remains supportive.
“Listen, there’s only 36 people that want that thing, that caution, thrown,” he said. “And they’re all sitting in the driver seats. I understand all the millions of people that say, ‘Let that b**** run green. But you can’t do it, guys. Somebody, seriously, and it could be your favorite driver, will get really, really hurt.
“A caution is an unsafe condition. That is the definition. And that is an unsafe condition. Let’s forget the past. They’re 1-0. Let’s start the trend of correct calls this week.”
The debate over NASCAR’s use of caution flags continues. At both the Daytona Duels and the final lap of the Daytona 500, the organization let the races finish under green, even after wrecks on track. They judged those moments safe enough to keep going.
But when a similar scenario unfolded in Atlanta? The caution came out. Despite the mixed decisions, Hamlin doubled down on his viewpoint.
“It was the right call. Good call? Just depends on who you ask. If you ask the fans who want entertainment, no — it was not a good call in their eyes. But I can assure you there’s not a driver in the field that would want that race to stay green, given the scenarios that were going on.
“You keep these races green, and someone will end up getting hurt. There’s just too much opportunity, and the drivers are way too vulnerable when they’re sitting in the racetrack, and then cars have to go by them full speed to gain spots. That’s just not a good scenario for anyone. The race had to end under caution.”
