Hamlin Slams NASCAR’s Call in Chicago Street Race

Following Sunday’s Chicago Street Race, Denny Hamlin didn’t hold back his thoughts on NASCAR’s officiating, especially concerning a late-race incident. The veteran driver believes a delayed caution flag significantly impacted the race’s outcome.

Hamlin’s Critique of Delayed Caution

During his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin argued that NASCAR should have immediately issued a yellow flag after Cody Ware‘s brake failure caused a violent crash into the Turn 6 tire barriers. However, NASCAR waited approximately 35 seconds before reacting.

By the time the caution was finally called, race leader Shane van Gisbergen had already crossed the white flag, signaling that the next flag would conclude the race. Hamlin strongly disagreed with the delay, stating, “This was not a good officiated race. No question about it [it should be an instant yellow]. That was a massive hit.”

Hamlin further elaborated on his dissatisfaction: “You have got to throw the caution immediately. That’s not a caution I would have liked to have seen by the way.”

NASCAR’s Reasoning and Weather Concerns

According to Jeff Gluck of The Athletic, NASCAR officials were uncertain about the severity of the impact and hoped Ware could free his car, similar to an incident involving Kyle Larson the previous year. A quicker caution would have forced an overtime situation in downtown Chicago.

NASCAR SVP of Competition Elton Sawyer on the delay in throwing the caution for Cody Ware:

"We were watching it, hoping he would be able to drive out of it. We saw the 8 car (Kyle Larson) do that last year. As we got closer, we realized he wasn't going to be able to drive out of it."

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 8, 2024

Hamlin suspects that impending weather also influenced NASCAR’s decision-making. “I’m always going to be on the side of crown the fair winner. The fair winner was SVG. And yes, if you get into a green-white-checkered, you could have a lot of issues. But you know what, that’s part of the deal,” he stated.

He continued, “Regardless of what they tell you, I think no question, rain coming in, the possibility of lightning, the possibility of a complete shitshow worth of overtime — all of that played a factor, in my opinion.”

Ware’s Perspective

Cody Ware, who walked away from the crash, also expressed surprise at the delayed caution. He told Frontstretch, “Yeah, I mean especially given the speed of how fast we were going into the barrier. Obviously I’m not going anywhere, there’s not much I can do at that point. But obviously at that point I’m just focused on getting out of the car and getting to a safe spot.”

Cody Ware on the timing of the caution:

"I was a little surprised, especially the speed we were going into the barrier. I wasn't going anywhere… I was focused on getting out of the car and getting to a safe spot."#NASCAR #ChicagoStreetRace pic.twitter.com/6SjTwYx93O

— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) July 6, 2023

Increased Scrutiny of NASCAR Officiating

This incident adds to growing scrutiny of NASCAR officiating. According to a recent study, officiating errors can swing race outcomes by as much as 10%, impacting driver standings and team strategies (Racing-Reference.info).