Denny Hamlin sounds off on NASCAR defining line in the sand with 'unprecedented' Austin Dillon penalty

Denny Hamlin believes NASCAR defined the line for aggressive racing with the penalty handed down to Austin Dillon coming out of this past Sunday’s race at Richmond.

Dillon, who intentionally wrecked Hamlin and Joey Logano on the final lap to take the checkered flag, had his automatic playoff berth revoked and was docked 25 points. Hamlin asked all week for NASCAR to define what is over the line, and it appears he got the answer he was looking for.

Where's the line when it comes to what drivers can and can't do? Denny Hamlin said NASCAR defined a little bit of the line with the Austin Dillon penalty this week. pic.twitter.com/hvWhqDhlj2

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 18, 2024

“I mean, I think that yeah, I feel like I saw something that I’ve never seen before last week,” Hamlin said, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “And we saw an unprecedented penalty. But when you see something unprecedented, you sometimes have to respond in an unprecedented manner. So, I believe so. I think that hard racing is still OK. Think if two cars are battling side-by-side and one of them hits the wall because of the close racing. I think that that’s gonna be deemed OK. Think if you come from a long ways back, you are not going to win the race until you decided to wreck someone, I think that is a clear line in the sand.”

Denny Hamlin satisfied by NASCAR’s penalty to Austin Dillon

Dillon has since appealed the penalty, which will be heard Wednesday. In those moments after the race, Hamlin questioned what the proverbial line was and how much NASCAR was willing to let slide.

While Hamlin has some clarity, he admits that “sometimes, balls and strikes are not totally clear.” In translation, we could be looking at a case-by-case basis in the future in determining what went over the line.

“But sometimes, balls and strikes are not totally clear. Sometimes, there’s one right on the edge and you have to call it,” Hamlin said. “But it’s up to us to make the decision. Do we wanna put ourselves in that grey area where it could be called one way or another. You just have to live with the result. I think if NASCAR polices potential wrecks for the win going forward, there’s gonna be some close calls. But you put yourself in that spot. So, you’re going to have to live with the result and the ruling on it.”