Denny Hamlin Speaks Out On Appeal Possibility After Staggering Penalty

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 team, has publicly addressed the possibility of appealing the substantial penalties recently imposed on him.

Following a significant rules infraction when the team did not send his race winning engine for inspection, Hamlin and his team were docked 75 driver and owner points and had 10 playoff points deducted.

Despite the severe repercussions, Hamlin has chosen not to pursue an appeal, citing the clarity of the rule violation.

Hamlin explained on his podcast, Actions Detrimental, as quoted by YardBarker.com:

“Yeah, you could, but what are you going to appeal? It’s black and white, right? It doesn’t matter about the intent, right?

“I mean, when it comes to wrecking, yes, intent matters, but not, you know, when you have a rules infraction, and it basically, what happened was black and white in a rule book, there’s just nothing to — there’s nothing to dispute.

“We can all talk about how unjust or unfair it is to the race team, but we’re all one. You know, you can’t separate engine manufacturers and car owners and drivers. Like, it is all wrapped into one, right? You know, we’re all going to ride and die together.”

The uninspected engine, which went unnoticed during its mandatory rotation, was rebuilt by the team without completing its inspection, contravening NASCAR regulations. Although Toyota Racing Development (TRD) has assumed responsibility for the mishap, the penalty still stands against Hamlin and his team, leaving them to shoulder the consequences.

Kevin Harvick, another prominent NASCAR driver, initially picked Hamlin as his favorite for the championship but reconsidered after the penalty. He explained on the Kevin Harvick Happy Hour podcast:

“Obviously the 11 car had the issues with the engine and a tech issue with everything that was going on from March, April.

“Major, major implications for Denny Hamlin from a points standpoint and regular-season points, the win bonus points got taken away. So there were huge implications from Denny Hamlin’s side.”

Harvick added:

“So basically the engines have to go through this rotation of how many times you have to run them, and if you win a race you have to take the engine back to NASCAR to be inspected. Well they never took the engine back to NASCAR because they used an engine that… I better slow down.

“They used an engine that won Bristol. That engine doesn’t have to be inspected until you’re done running it through the mandatory cycle of races that you have to run it.

“So when they got to the end of the cycle of races that they were supposed to run this engine at, it would technically have to go back to NASCAR to be inspected for the win at Bristol. It just goes for the win.

“It didn’t go for the win to get inspected, and apparently they turned themselves in because they rebuilt the motor without the motor going back to get inspected.”