The NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway was won by Denny Hamlin after a lot of controversy. But the JGR driver’s jumpstart win wasn’t just the topic of heated debates from the race. A caution call by NASCAR involving ex-JGR driver Kyle Busch also received a lot of slack.
During his podcast, Dale Jr. Download, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. detailed how the yellow flag ruined the strategically interesting race. The team used wet tires to start the race on Sunday and as the race reached mid-way to stage one, a Bristol like tier wear battles was on the horizon.
But NASCAR’s decision to yellow flag the race after the No:8 Chevy made a slight contact with the wall ruined the potential entertainment that was store. The natural pit-cycle didn’t happen, and tier wear didn’t become the key factor. Junior hated seeing this occur. Earnhardt Jr. concluded by speaking about how nothing could make him understand the reasoning behind the yellow being thrown.
Dude, we were really set up for a pretty interesting race in terms of strategy until the fricking yellow come out for Kyle Busch. Well, I mean I just don't understand. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Dale Jr. Download Podcast.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals thoughts on Denny Hamlin’s jump-start at Richmond
Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Denny Hamlin jumped the restart at Richmond to secure the win per his teammate Martin Truex Jr. The driver was later investigated by NASCAR and not penalized. On his podcast Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares his thoughts on it.
To come out and say, I think if it happened on lap 10, we’d have called it differently. That makes me even more angry. Why are you calling differently depending on the laps? The rule in the book is black and white. It’s on or off. It’s yes or no. It doesn’t change at lap 4 or 50 or lap 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer seemed to be really shocked by the sanctioning body’s decision not to penalize Hamlin as according to him it was a slam-dunk offense. He concluded by saying the rules should be followed irrespective of lap and Hamlin should have definitely been penalized for it.
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