NASCAR admits to Denny Hamlin “Rolling Early”

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past two days, most race fans know that Easter Sunday’s night race at Richmond ended in controversy, and social media lit up like a Christmas tree shortly thereafter. Martin Truex Jr. had dominated the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, but it all turned sour in the closing moments as frustration quickly boiled over and turned into some pretty aggressive driving. Truex is known for his level head and fair driving style, so his on-track combativeness was uncharacteristic for him, but it was certainly understood.

The turning point came with just two laps remaining when a caution flag waved, reshuffling the running order. The yellow was the result of Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace colliding with Kyle Larson, which, for many fans, was also a source of controversy this week. Until the caution, Truex, who had been leading Joey Logano, found himself second to teammate Denny Hamlin when leaving pit road; thus, giving Hamlin the position of control car for the restart.

Hamlin, opting for the inside line, surged ahead into Turn 1, a move that Truex claimed was due to an early jump on the restart. Truex then took exception to Hamlin’s aggressive maneuver to grab the lead, which led to some tense moments on the track. Expressing his displeasure, Truex made his feelings known by nudging both Kyle Larson and Hamlin during the cool-down lap. Later, he voiced his frustration, alleging that Hamlin had not only jumped the restart but had also driven aggressively to gain the lead.

Initially, NASCAR announced that the restart would not be reviewed. This was in spite of the replay being reshown on the broadcast, as announcers openly questioned if Hamlin had jumped the start. Then, in a confusing move, NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competition, announced post-race that the restart had indeed been reviewed and it was good.

While Hamlin defended his actions, fans took to social media. And though there were a few fans that steadfastly stood by Hamlin (many of whom were incorrectly quoting the rules), the majority were calling it out as a jumped start and were wondering if NASCAR planned to make things right by penalizing Hamlin and handing the win to second place, Joey Logano.

Monday marked April 1st, so Hamlin took the opportunity to stir the pot with a post that further irked fans, essentially acknowledging the early start, alluding to his plan to do the right thing, and then finishing by wishing everyone a happy April Fool’s Day.

It wasn’t until Tuesday that Elton Sawyer took to the air to address the issue, in an interview on Sirius XM radio. And once again, the story changed. Sawyer acknowledged that, after taking the time to examine the data and footage from all angles, including in-car cameras, Hamlin had indeed rolled early on the restart, though no penalty was issued due to the live nature of the event and the difficulty of making such calls in real-time.

Sawyer emphasized that decisions might vary depending on the timing of such an incident, indicating that had it happened on an earlier restart, it would have been treated differently. This explanation confused and annoyed fans, who again used social media to express their frustration at NASCAR’s inconsistency when it comes to adhering to the rule book. And, of course, the conspiracy theories abounded. Not to mention that several drivers spoke out and voiced their resentment of the decision via podcasts and various interviews.

The dust has not yet settled from the Richmond short track race, and we’re just days away from an even shorter track. Martinsville’s Cook Out 400 will mark Hendrick Motorsports’ 40-year anniversary in NASCAR so a few special events are planned. But given how hot under the collar some drivers were only days ago, the anniversary likely won’t be the biggest talking point of the weekend. And who knows if we’ll see any retailiation.