It was 2025. Denny Hamlin was leading the race at Phoenix, heading towards his first championship title and his father’s last. Yet in a matter of seconds, he was stripped of that opportunity as William Byron crashed into the wall. The caution flag was thrown, and Hamlin’s three-second lead turned into a disaster when his team went for a four-tire pit stop. Hamlin hasn’t processed that loss completely, and he faced the same situation once again.
This time, Hamlin lost a race due to overtime at Kansas this weekend. The script felt exactly the same as Phoenix. Hamlin was leading with a comfortable margin when NASCAR threw the caution flag and the race went into overtime. Once again Hamlin slipped down the pack, and his competitor won the race after nearly losing it only a few laps ago.
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Hamlin is frustrated with Cody Ware for creating this situation. But fans, on the other hand, are upset with NASCAR for becoming so dramatic in the first place. It was visible in the comments when Dale Jr.’s Dirty Mo Media asked on social media if “NASCAR was too quick to throw the yellow with two laps to go for a single-car spin.”
At first glance it feels like it was definitely not the correct move. The race leaders had enough time to react, and Cody Ware would easily stay out of their way. In fact, NASCAR has seen more chaotic finishes at Daytona and Atlanta this year without any caution flags to pause racing. The sport’s aversion to finishing a race under caution has turned many guaranteed finishes into what ifs.
And this time, the fans are accusing NASCAR of ‘robbing’ Denny Hamlin of a well-deserved win at Kansas and gifting it away to Tyler Reddick, who was essentially out of contention. It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. Hamlin passed Reddick, who was out of fuel, and as he soared forward to increase the gap, Cody Ware spun out.
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At the race restart, Reddick rocketed away from him while he fumbled the restart and let Larson get the better of him. From almost winning Kansas, Denny Hamlin was relegated to P4 instead. No wonder the sentiments among the fans are rather harsh for NASCAR.
Fans accuse NASCAR of rigging the race with unnecessary overtimes
One of the fans immediately replied to Dirty Mo Media’s question, “Spot on. If he was too close to the groove, the driver-side door was facing oncoming traffic.” It did look like both Reddick and Hamlin had enough time and space to safely navigate past Ware at that point. Another user also points out the folly of the situation.
“Spot on. They didn’t throw the yellow until the leaders were well past Ware, and then he was off the track headed for pit lane.” That alone raises questions about NASCAR’s excuse for waiting it out until Hamlin and Reddick moved away from Cody Ware. If he was already headed towards the pits, then there was certainly no need to ruin Hamlin’s lead.
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Some users are also questioning the fact that it is mostly Denny Hamlin who finds himself in such sensitive situations where he has to gamble on the win after leading comfortably. “How is it that it’s always Denny who gets robbed in broad daylight?” The fact that users think NASCAR robbed Hamlin is a serious allegation.
There were similar reactions to his 2025 championship defeat after Phoenix. NASCAR would certainly want to avoid these awkward moments with Denny Hamlin.
Meanwhile, fans are also discussing how NASCAR’s affinity for cautions ends up creating wildly different outcomes for the race despite the unfairness of the situation. “This OT may have been valid, but there are way too many in @NASCAR, and it is usually when a guy 5-6 laps down changes the outcome of the race.”
Another fan also wants NASCAR to realize the error of its ways. The user expects the sport to race naturally instead of creating artificial green-flag finishes just for the sake of entertainment.
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“They were way too quick to throw the caution. They want those overtime finishes so bad… extra add revenue, and they think it’s exciting. When all we want is good racing without manipulation from NASCAR suits.”
For a long time now, the overtime finishes have become a part and parcel of NASCAR. Yet the audience is still not able to grasp the effectiveness of the same. In their eyes, it is a futile attempt to keep the race going on without considering the undesirable changes in the outcome of the race.
