There are not many people in NASCAR who don’t agree that Denny Hamlin went early on that restart last Sunday in Richmond. A week from that race, Hamlin was once again confronted about that controversial moment which earned him his second win of the season.
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Ahead of qualifying in Martinsville, Hamlin was asked by FOX Sports about his take on what happened on that restart and what he did. Hamlin’s response was pretty honest and straightforward.
“I mean, yeah, definitely went early. I was trying to combat the advantage and the cars that were around me were trying to get on me by switching it up, by making them have react to me instead of me reacting to them,” he said.
In fact, he also confessed that he texted Elton Sawyer, who had issued a very subtle warning in the wake of the Richmond restart controversy.
Denny Hamlin texted Elton Sawyer after Richmond
As questions began to flood NASCAR after Richmond, Elton Sawyer admitted that if the same infringement, a driver going earlier than he’s supposed to at a restart, happened at a different moment in the race, they would’ve called it. Of course, this didn’t sit well with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
But Sawyer also made it clear to the drivers that even though NASCAR let Hamlin’s infringement pass, they shouldn’t be “playing that game every week.” “Sometimes you get the call that goes in your favor,” Sawyer added. It’s very possible that Sawyer’s words, especially the last part were heard loud and clear by Denny Hamlin.
Because he confessed to sending a text to Sawyer. “I texted Elton Sawyer, I said I’ll keep it in the box here going forward,” he revealed. Hamlin was of the opinion that like any other rule that NASCAR emphasizes on, he was sure they’ll address it in the driver’s meeting and remind everyone that they’ll be paying more attention to it.
As for what he’s going to do in similar situations, Hamlin once again pressed on that they’ll “keep it in the box.”
