Denny Hamlin Joins NASCAR Fans in Protest Against Stage Cautions

The cautions have been built in NASCAR to keep the drivers safe. Well, some may capitalize on it to gain some places and even win a race, which creates a layer of drama. 

However, recently, the cautions have been under scrutiny by many of the fans and drivers alike. The criticism against cautions began at this year’s Martinsville race when Cody Ware lost control of his car, but he managed to get going, and there was no significant damage.

The caution period lasted for 17 laps, ending the race in yellow, which is not an ideal scenario. This has caused many of the fans and drivers to speak out against the incident.

Denny Hamlin, the stage one winner at Martinsville, recently spoke about the same on his podcast Actions Detrimental.

“I don’t know that there’s a huge sense of urgency on regular cautions, too, because again, TV is banking on it.” He added, “When the fans complained about all these commercials during green flag, they were like ” alright we’re going to do it during yellow. Well, the running time of the commercials has to remain whatever it is. So they are just going to have to extend the cautions.”

Hamlin finished the race second behind Chase Elliott. The caution period had a part to play in Hamlin’s finish, as he was unable to really recover and take the lead back from Elliott. However, he is concerned about the viewing experience of fans.

“We’re trying to make it all work”- Denny Hamlin weighs in about extended cautions

The recent incident of extended caution at the end of Stage One of the NASCAR race at Martinsville has caused a lot of talk about caution periods. 

It has led many of the NASCAR fans to come up with their own theories. Many of them pointed out how these stage cautions create a perfect window for commercials.

Talking about the same, Denny Hamlin said, “We’re trying to make it all work and feed all the mouths that are NASCAR. So, it’s a tough thing, but TV’s got to get its commercials in. It’s the only way that the series gets the money that it does; that is the thing that supports the whole thing.”

Previously, the commercial break took place under green flag conditions. This meant that the fans would be missing out on the on-track action. 

As NASCAR evolves, this could be a problem the sport will continue facing. There will be a rise in advertisements, which in turn will help revenue. However, if the viewing experience continues deteriorating, fans of the sport will have to either show up to races in person or advertisements will have to be planned better.