Denny Hamlin: NASCAR fans 'have a right to gripe' about inconsistent rulings in races
NASCAR fans are up in arms over the inconsistencies in rulings on the heels of this past Sunday’s Brickyard 400, and Denny Hamlin believes it’s warranted.
Hamlin, speaking on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, cited Austin Cindric’s spin at Nashville last month, which was instantly called a caution, whereas NASCAR waited to throw the caution following Ryan Preece’s spin in the second overtime of the race at IMS.
“This is what we’re talking about, NASCAR,” Hamlin said. “This is your inconsistencies that people gripe about, and they have a right to gripe because it is so inconsistent. You can’t decide whether you want the caution, or you don’t want the caution. And so, that’s the agitating part of it.”
By not throwing the caution instantly when it became clear Preece couldn’t move, as he had run out of fuel and had a tire down, Kyle Larson took the white flag as the leader. NASCAR then decided to throw the yellow flag, thus signifying the end of the race. Larson won his fourth race of the season.
Speaking Tuesday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer said they wanted to allow Preece every opportunity to get rolling so they could finish the race under green.
Elton Sawyer: NASCAR ‘did a really good job’ managing last lap caution flag decision
“For our fans, our goal at every event is to finish under green,” Sawyer said. “That is what our goal is going into the weekend. But there’s circumstances that happened on the last lap at Indy. And I will go back to last year at Pocono, very similar situation with the same car. I might add, the 41. Both, we’re trying to give that car every opportunity to get started, get rolling and let the race end naturally.
“As we came off Turn 4 and coming to the start-finish line for the white flag [at Indy], it’s a two-and-a-half-mile racetrack. So, you still have a lot of racing that can happen. As the cars started to get off in Turn 1, you’re starting to get closer to having to make a decision. That’s our process. That’s our mindset. The same as it was last year at Pocono. I believe the 41 had spun there in the tunnel turn.”
Had the caution been called before Larson took the white flag, a third overtime restart would have commenced. Sawyer, however, believes NASCAR made the correct decision.
“Again, you give … the drivers every opportunity to get going but also the guys that are leading … As they are racing, you can’t let them race through a situation where you’ve got a car stopped on the racetrack. So that was our decision process and how we kind of digest that very quickly,” Sawyer said. “I might add we have now had the opportunity for 24 hours, 48 hours to kind of digest it. And I still go back. And think our race director did a really good job in the way he managed that.”