Denny Hamlin reveals why No. 11 team won't appeal massive penalty: 'Nothing to dispute'

Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team were hit with a massive penalty, but don’t expect an appeal coming from their side anytime soon.

Even though the No. 11 team was docked 75 driver and owner points, as well as a stiff 10 playoff points, Hamlin believes there’s nothing to be done about it, as the veteran wheelman explained his reasoning during the latest episode of Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin.

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“Yeah, you could, but what are you going to appeal? It’s black and white, right? It doesn’t matter about the intent, right?” Hamlin said, regarding whether he would appeal the penalty. “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.”

That’s a healthy way of looking at it from Hamlin’s perspective, at least. While it’s not an error that he made, it’ll certainly change the way the veteran approaches the next couple of months at the track, putting the No. 11 in a precarious position throughout the playoffs.

Regardless of the penalty and lack of appeal, Hamlin will still be one of the favorites for the Cup Series title in 2024. While he’s cooled a bit after winning at a torrid pace to start the season, Hamlin is usually able to turn it back on in the playoffs, even if it hasn’t led to a championship for him yet in his career.

Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team are accepting their penalty, taking their medicine and moving forward. The wheelman believes the rule is cut and dry, but that doesn’t make it sting any less. Count him out at your own risk though.

Kevin Harvick reacts to massive Denny Hamlin NASCAR penalty

Moreover, Denny Hamlin was Kevin Harvick’s championship pick for basically the entire season. However, the penalty has given him a bit of pause, as he tried to let the news sink in during an episode of Kevin Harvick’s 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,” Harvick said. “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.”

For some, exactly what happened with Hamlin’s engine fiasco remains a mystery. Harvick did his best to break it down in an easily digestible fashion.

“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,” Harvick added. “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.”

Of course, Toyota Racing Development took responsibility for the issue, seemingly absolving Denny Hamlin and his team for any wrongdoing. Still, they’ll still suffer the consequences of the mishap, and that’s something the No. 11 team will have to overcome if they want to win a title in 2024.

On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this article.