Denny Hamlin’s “Very Costly” Take on Why Racing Is Not Part of the Olympics

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games have turned out to be yet another successful campaign in the storied history of global athleticism. The inclusion of motorsports at this stage has always been debated but not a lot has happened to make it a reality. Reasons for the rejection are many but Joe Gibbs Racing superstar Denny Hamlin sees one clear issue.

Every athlete who competes in a particular category of sport does so with the same equipment as their counterparts, creating a level of parity that helps judge their abilities fairly. Hamlin believes that this would be something extremely difficult to do in motorsports. “I don’t know how you would do it in a motorsports type of fashion,” he said to the press in Richmond.

“If you change one degree of weather, it could change the advantage one has over the other. It would be very difficult. It would be very costly for the Olympic commission to try to put something together for motorsports.” Achieving an equal playing ground, even inside the grounds of NASCAR, has proven to be a trying affair for the officiating body, OEMs, teams, and drivers.

To reach such a mark on a scale as large as the Olympics would only be more so. Nevertheless, the veteran does hope that a feasible way pops up in the future. He added, “I saw some sports that I didn’t know this time around, so I would love to see motorsports as part of it, but I don’t know how feasible it is, just knowing that we all drive different equipment.”

Hamlin captures pole position for Richmond’s 400-lap race

Hamlin will be hoping to complete a Richmond sweep this Sunday after winning the race at the venue in March. He had then beaten teammate Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap to secure bragging rights. Coming back to the 0.75-mile oval, he appears set for a repeat of glory after setting the quickest speed (118.162 mph) in qualifying on Saturday. It will be his third pole start in 2024.

As fate would have it, Truex Jr. fell slightly short of Hamlin on qualifying speed and will start from second place. For the first time in a points-paying Cup Series race, teams will be able to make tire choices. They receive multiple sets of “Prime” tires and “Option” tires. The latter is a softer one that maximizes grip and speed at the cost of longevity. Watching the teammates battle it out this time is bound to be an interesting affair.