There’s no love lost between NASCAR and Denny Hamlin. The veteran racer always says it like it is, not afraid of challenging the status quo. Aside from the fact that his team is currently involved in an antitrust lawsuit against the France family, the Florida native has also spoken out against the sanctioning body’s ‘Run What Ya Brung’ All-Star concept. The plan was to let teams experiment by running cars that didn’t follow the rulebook. However, the idea never got off the ground.
Hamlin was one of the team owners who didn’t support the plan, citing that it could cost up to “$2 million” to execute the idea. The claim was refuted by NASCAR’s Mike Forde on the Hauler podcast, and since then, the debate over the cost of that proposal has turned into a very public disagreement.
Denny Hamlin stands his ground despite pushback
Denny Hamlin isn’t backing down anytime soon. He’s sticking to his guns that NASCAR’s scrapped All-Star Race idea would’ve come with a steep price tag. The 23XI Racing co-owner didn’t see the logic in spending millions on a race that only paid $ 1 million to win, especially when his team has three cars that would’ve needed modifications. Even though NASCAR’s Mike Forde said, “What, actually, it could cost, is zero dollars or potentially save team’s money,” the veteran racer isn’t having it, sharing an entirely different perspective ahead of the Würth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Speaking to Frontstretch’s Stephen Stumpf, Denny Hamlin said, “Well, I’m now a five-year experienced team owner, so I think I know what it costs.” He went on to say, “I think it was a lot of confusion in it. A lot of it is because it was vague.” According to the 44-year-old, even if the proposal only allowed single-sourced parts, teams will still look to gain advantages in the gray areas, and that’s where the ‘real’ cost would come in. “When I look at the sheet, I mean there was a lot that could be altered… we’re going to do things to stuff that they’re not looking at,” he went on to say.
Hamlin explained that the costs aren’t just related to parts and materials either. Gaining a competitive advantage on the racetrack isn’t an easy task, and significant R&D is required from the engineering and testing teams. On that note, the 23XI co-owner went on to say, “Financially, it doesn’t make sense. The R&D itself would just cost a lot of money.” The Florida native also said that he’s not the only one to claim that the ‘Run What Ya Brung’ format will be too expensive, saying, “It was Chad Knaus and Travis Geisler that met with NASCAR and said, ‘It’s going to cost a lot.’ You got to trust those guys. They’ve been doing this for far longer than I have.”
NASCAR is a competitive sport where the difference between winning and losing is often defined by fine margins. Teams, especially the bigger ones like 23XI and Joe Gibbs Racing, aren’t satisfied with simply participating, even in a non-points-paying race. Denny Hamlin knows this all too well, having spent decades on the track as a driver. That’s why he said, “It’s just going to be an arms race of who would be willing to spend the most.” It’s clear that Denny Hamlin is going to stand his ground, even after receiving plenty of pushback from NASCAR. But going by his recent comments, perhaps he has reason enough to think so.
Dale Jr. and Kyle Busch go against Hamlin’s views
Even though Denny Hamlin feels strongly about his views, not everyone in the NASCAR garage shares the same train of thought. Fellow veterans Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch have offered a contrasting view on the ‘Run What Ya Brung’ concept, with ‘Rowdy’ in particular voicing his support for NASCAR’s original idea as a potential solution to the Next-Gen car’s short track woes.
Sharing his thoughts about the All-Star concept, Busch candidly said, “I heard they were going to allow opening the motors… take the floors off if you want, add wickers if you want. I don’t know where you finally draw the line on that. I kinda of get team’s perspective on it, but somebody needs somehow to figure out how to make this thing race at short-track better.” Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr. disagreed with Hamlin’s cost estimate, saying, “That’s overstating it. I think it would cost the teams some money for sure, but not $2 million.”
Junior went on to say that Denny Hamlin may be trying to pressure NASCAR into increasing the All-Star race’s purse, saying, “I think that’s just a heavy excuse to say, ‘Yeah, this is why I didn’t want to do it.’ I think he is overstating the cost to make a point… He’s already mad about the damn purse being $1 Million for 30 years.” Could there be an element of truth in Dale Jr’s words, or does Denny Hamlin know more about the costs at NASCAR’s highest level, having been a team owner for years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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