NASCAR said it would make up a penalty for Denny Hamlin at Iowa

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NASCAR said it would make up a penalty for Denny Hamlin at Iowa

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Aug 12, 2026 8:34 AM ET

Brake issues plagued Denny Hamlin during NASCAR Cup Series practice Saturday at Iowa Speedway, and naturally, the veteran driver wanted to change them.

While the No. 11 team changed the brake rotors and drained the brake lines in Hamlin's Toyota, they couldn't switch out the rotors. Hamlin was already going to the rear of the field for Sunday's race due to the aforementioned changes.

Hamlin pled his case to NASCAR as to why his team should've been allowed to make further changes, but the sanctioning body was having none of it.

NASCAR would've made up a new penalty for Denny Hamlin

"Listen, I did my best in that hauler," Hamlin said on Monday's episode of "Actions Detrimental." "I just laid out my case and said, 'What if I just tell the team, nope, I will not go out on the racetrack with those brake pads. Absolutely not. I'm too old to be hitting this wall head on.'"

NASCAR almost created a new penalty for Denny.

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"[NASCAR] said, 'Well, we would make up a penalty, and it would be worse than what it would be if you just came in and changed them under green.' I was like, 'Oh, well. I guess I've just got to go slower then. If I lose brakes, I'm just going to putt around the racetrack and end up however many laps down that I end up.'"

While Hamlin reported early in the race that his brakes weren't working properly, he drove his way to a fifth-place finish. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe, also reported major brake issues on Saturday but finished sixth.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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