Denny Hamlin offers strong stance on NASCAR timing for Josh Berry caution at Chicago, calls for change

Denny Hamlin wants NASCAR to make changes after what happened to Josh Berry at the Chicago Street Race. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin was asked if NASCAR waited too long to throw the caution flag after Berry got into a wreck.

“Yes, I mean he was sitting there, driver’s door first into a corner that is heavy, heavy breaking,” Denny Hamlin said. “Absolutely. That was a late call.”

Hamlin added: “I don’t think you got to wait. There was a balance to be had there. Think about this, I believe I saw [Josh Berry] twice. So I went around him when he hit the inside of (Turn) 7. I was one of the cars that went around him. And then, I saw him in a different spot, sitting driver’s door first. That’s a minute and a half. How about wait 30 seconds, wait 45 seconds, not a minute and a half. Can’t let the field come back through there.”

Josh Berry has a rough day at Chicago

Hamlin also mentioned there’s a flaw in the road course races and asked, “How many people they have watching the corners?” He then said, “If they got cameras on all corners, which they say they do, then you got to have a person per camera. You can’t look at multiple monitors and think that you’re catching it all. That’s not realistic, but I don’t know whether they’re willing to put the manpower into that. I don’t know whether they’re willing to spend the money to do that because obviously they did this to save money in the long run.”

Berry’s wreck happened during the 29th lap, and his day was done after that. He earned a P34 finish, and it’s the second consecutive race he has finished outside the top 30. However, the 34-year-old is playoff-bound as he won the Las Vegas race earlier in the season.

Berry is in his second season as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver and first with Wood Brothers Racing. He was with Stewart-Haas Racing last year and finished 27th in the Cup standings.