NASCAR penalty report released after Gateway

The NASCAR penalty report from the weekend at Gateway is out. It’s not particularly juicy.

Only one penalty was handed out stemming from the racing over the weekend in St. Louis. It came about in the Xfinity Series.

Jesse Love‘s No. 2 team was fined $5,000 for a violation of Section 8.8.10.4a of the NASCAR Rule Book — having a missing lug nut at the conclusion of the race at World Wide Technology Raceway. That’s a pretty benign penalty, as things go.

Denny Hamlin takes NASCAR Cup Series win

Denny Hamlin bested his teammate Chase Briscoe at Gateway this past weekend in the Cup Series. That marked his fifth win of the season and the 59th of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

It wasn’t always a sure thing that Hamlin would reach Victory Lane, but a couple of key late-race decisions put him in position for another checkered flag. On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin broke down his performance and explained why he wasn’t worried about Briscoe beating him at Gateway.

“So the lead was me and the No. 22. We pit, we come out, the No. 19 took two, so he jumped us. I’m racing the crap out of the No. 19. You see us kind of go — we knew that was for the lead at that moment. I knew that that was important. I also knew it was really important to pass him right then — not five laps from now. I needed to get him right as soon as I could. Like I said, the first 10 laps on tires seemed like was the most benefit. After that, they just leveled out. So, I was very fortunate to pass him,” Hamlin explained.

“Then, the next corner, the caution came out. That allowed me to take now the front row. I raced the No. 6 who’s got, you know — their tires are shit. So, I’m able to clear there, and it’s bosses from that point. … I thought I had enough speed over (Briscoe) to be able to do it. I mean, he was putting up a great fight — but I thought it was inevitable.”

Hamlin got the job done, leaving Briscoe to settle for second behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. Afterward, the veteran driver was candid about his career outlook and what still motivates him moving forward.

“It’s always been about number of races,” Hamlin stated, alluding to a championship not being the reason he’d stay behind the wheel. “The only one I thought about was this year and the Daytona 500, thinking that probably only going to do this twice more. Brickyards, right? I haven’t won the freaking Brickyard. I’m going to have two more shots at it, and that’s it, to round this thing out. 

“There’s certain races that I do have countdowns for. Championships isn’t one of ’em. Obviously, it’s well-documented that I want to get the wins, and I feel like that will carry its weight long after. When you compare me to someone that’s maybe got one or two, maybe three championships, and half the wins, I don’t think that person’s better than I am.”

On3’s Steve Samra also contributed to this report.