Denny Hamlin Reacts To NASCAR's Controversial Darlington Decision

The NASCAR reason is hitting its stride as we get into the spring season, and Denny Hamlin is peaking at the right time. The veteran has won each of the last two races at Martinsville and Darlington, showing that he's a contender for that elusive first career championship.

Hamlin has won back-to-back races and could be in line for an impressive season, but he addressed one controversial choice from the race on Sunday in South Carolina.

During the second stage of the race, Brad Keselowski spun out. NASCAR did not throw a caution immediately, and this became an issue after a loose lug nut was dislodged from Kelselowski's car.

A caution was called during green flag pit stops, which forced some teams to change their strategies on tires or fuel for the rest of the race. During the latest episode of his "Actions Detrimental" podcast, Hamlin addressed the decision by NASCAR.

“That was right in the middle of a pit sequence which that’s essentially what flipped the field upside down. It went from where I was running in the teens to now, I’m in the top five,” Hamlin said on the show Monday.

“I was surprised they didn’t throw the caution when he spun out. Usually, a spin out has always been a caution at Darlington."

Hamlin said that NASCAR was forced to throw the caution after the debris was on the track, and that it tried to find the right balance between safety and competition.

“The sensitivity of it was NASCAR was trying not to get involved in throwing an ill-timed caution that was gonna turn the field upside down, but they couldn’t ignore the lug nut that was on the track," he said.

"If you run over that, not only is it gonna damage someone’s car, that thing could get kicked up anywhere.”