Cup Series veteran calls for changes at the top to combat perceived issues with the Next Gen car.
Icon SportswireGetty ImagesDenny Hamlin, the 48-time NASCAR Cup race-winning driver, finished fifth in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but was not exactly smiling on the way out of town.
That’s because Denny Hamlin, the team owner, was not happy with what’s happening with the series’ Next Gen Car when it comes to driver safety. The safety issues with the new car for 2022 is something the co-owner of 23XI Racing has dealt with personally, both on the driver side and the owner side.
On August 31, Hamlin withdrew from the Xfinity Series at Darlington due to ongoing soreness from a wreck in the Cup race the previous week at Daytona. And, going all the way back to July 23, one of his drivers—Kurt Busch—suffered a head injury in a crash in qualifying that has kept him on the sidelines ever since.
Similarly, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman was involved in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway on September 25 and had to withdraw with concussion-like symptoms from this past weekend’s Playoff race at Talladega.
Interestingly enough, both the Bowman and Busch crashes had a similar look, with both car’s back ends getting loose and smashing into the wall.
Hamlin was asked in the media center on Saturday about how we are still in this position he abruptly replied, “Bad leadership.”
When asked how to fix this going forward, Hamlin said, “New leadership”
When it comes what, or who, he meant specifically, he answered with: “I don’t know, just start at the top and work your way down.”
#NASCAR … Denny Hamlin is asked how the sport is in this spot with the new car:
“Bad leadership” pic.twitter.com/gokP6TDZ34— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) October 1, 2022
In response to these comments, NASCAR president Steve Phelps called a meeting with Hamlin. When he was approached about Sunday’s meeting, Hamlin said: “I don’t have any details on it, but I am great friends with Steve Phelps.”
Hamlin also insisted that Steve is “A leader that we need” and in his comments he “Made it clear (he) was not directing anything at (Steve).”
Denny Hamlin confirms he met with #NASCAR President Steve Phelps before Sunday’s race. Meeting came after Hamlin’s comments to the media about the car and more. What Denny said of the meeting with Phelps. pic.twitter.com/c5dG03Bump
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) October 2, 2022
Keyword: Denny Hamlin Blames NASCAR's 'Bad Leadership' for Next Gen Car Safety Issues