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Denny Hamlin recounts 'absolute disaster' of week after engine penalty

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones08/27/24brianjones_93
Denny Hamlin (16)
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Denny Hamlin had a week he would like to forget after receiving an engine penalty from NASCAR and being involved in a wreck at Daytona. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin talked about his week that will impact his chance to win a NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

“The last five days have been an absolute disaster on my end,” Hamlin said. “When you think I can’t get any unluckier, here we come. The cloud falls over. I told you I’m the black cat of death cursed. It’ll just make it more exciting when we have to overcome all this and finally do win a championship this year hopefully. It certainly is not ideal. With this three-race season about to start, certainly, I’m in a vulnerable spot right now in points.”

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On Thursday, Hamlin learned that he and his No. 11 team have been penalized for violating engine inspection requirements. It was revealed that Hamlni’s engine from the win at Bristol was rebuilt instead of being inpsected by NASCAR. Toyota Racing Development (TRD) reported this to NASCAR, and Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) owner Joe Gibbs were docked 75 points and 10 playoffs points. Additionally, crew chief Chris Gabehart was fined $100,000, and Hamlin’s victory at Bristol no longer counts toward eligibility for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Denny Hamlin says engine ‘slipped through the cracks’

“It obviously slipped through the cracks somehow,” Hamlin said. “Things happen, and certainly nobody wanted this to happen certainly within TRD. The car that has the most points that was sitting in the best spot to win them a championship. Surely they didn’t want this to happen, but it did. They wanted to make sure they played by the rules and reported it and try to see if there’s any way we could rectify it, but there just wasn’t. When you got red seal sitting on the ground, you’ve hurt the integrity process of inspection.”

The Bristol victory was Hamlin’s first of the season. He also won races at Richmond and Dover, so he still has a spot in the playoffs. But Hamlin hasn’t won since the Dover race, and with him being hit with the penalty he knows he has some serious work to do to win his first Cup Series title.