Denny Hamlin calls out NASCAR over Tyler Reddick trophy presentation

Denny Hamlin enjoyed seeing his 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick capture the team’s first regular season title, but he was a little peeved at NASCAR for their handling of the trophy presentation at Darlington over the weekend.

While Hamlin was enthusiastic about the accomplishment, he told the Associated Press‘ Jenna Fryer that he was disappointed in the lack of pomp and circumstance from NASCAR officials: “It was pretty disappointing no one from #NASCAR presented (Reddick) with his regular season trophy,” the 23XI Racing co-owner stated.

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Even if NASCAR didn’t handle the trophy presentation in the correct way, at least in Hamlin’s eyes, Reddick’s accomplishment is nothing to scoff at. He bested Kyle Larson by one point in the final standings, bringing the huge honor home to 23XI Racing for the first time in the organization’s history.

While the regular season title is nice, last season’s victor in Martin Truex Jr. can attest to it not being on the same level as the Cup Series championship, and Reddick recognizes that. As he enters the playoffs, the grand trophy is all that’s on his mind.

In an interesting twist of fate, that’s what Denny Hamlin will be looking to accomplish, as well. It’s the one thing missing from his illustrious resume, and it’ll be fascinating to see how Hamlin and Reddick would approach a potential battle for the title. Until then, they’ll enjoy 23XI Racing’s regular season championship, even if NASCAR could’ve done a better job congratulating them.

More on Denny Hamlin, gripes with NASCAR

Evidently, the regular season championship trophy presentation Denny Hamlin isn’t the only way NASCAR has gotten under the veteran’s skin, as he provided a fascinating update on the charter agreements between NASCAR and its teams ahead of this weekend’s playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

At NASCAR Playoff Media Day, Hamlin told FOX’s Bob Pockrass that there’s still work to do to get a charter agreement done, “I do not believe we’re close,” the veteran wheelman said.

When Pockrass pushed back on the notion, stating that he’s “heard from some owners/executives who said they feel it is close,” Hamlin elaborated on his thoughts, adding, “Some think we are and some think we aren’t.”

Over the last few weeks, Hamlin and 23XI Racing haven’t been shy about their feelings on the charter agreement, and NASCAR’s negotiation tactics. 23XI Racing investor Curtis Polk even made a statement ahead of Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington, pinning a piece of paper on the back of his shirt which read, “Please don’t ask me about my Charter. I don’t want to disparage NASCAR and lose it.”

Afterwards, Hamlin revealed on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast that NASCAR inserted an anti-disparagement clause into drafts of the recent charter proposals. Hamlin didn’t want to dive too deep into Polk’s decision to wear the shirt, adding he was surprised to see he did it. 

“I would choose not to speak about [Polk’s shirt], but it kind of speaks for itself, and I can’t believe he actually wore that,” Hamlin stated. “They do not want you speaking negatively, that’s a new add to the charter agreement. We’ll see how that goes. NASCAR’s got their stance and the teams have there’s. We’ll just see where this goes the next few weeks.”

Whether the charter agreement is done by this weekend remains to be seen, but Denny Hamlin’s comments, coupled with the recent actions from key 23XI Racing personnel, don’t exactly lend confidence to that idea.

On3’s Nick Geddes contributed to this article.