Here's why Denny Hamlin said he is losing his love for NASCAR
Denny Hamlin let loose on his podcast Monday, the day after the Daytona 500 saying he is "losing his love" for his sport because luck has become more important than skill in NASCAR Cup racing.
Hamlin pointed to the Daytona 500, which again included a late-race crash, as an example for what is hurting auto racing at the highest level.
William Byron drove through the wreck to win the Daytona 500 for the second consecutive year. He passed the top three drivers on the way to the finish line.
"Are we going to start viewing the Dayton 500 winners like we question our champions," Hamlin said on his "Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin podcast. "It's a bunch of questions now. It's 'Yeah, but' and I hate that for the winners because this is their big moment to shine ... but I hate the fact of how much luck is involved in NASCAR now."
Hamlin managed to avoid two multi-car crashes late in Sunday's race, but ended up next to Austin Cindric on the final lap before being taken out by contact from behind and finishing 24th.
Instead of making strategic driving moves at the end a race to win, Hamlin said it is more important now to avoid the late chaos that comes more often than not.
DENNY HAMLIN AVOIDS DAYTONA CRASH: Denny Hamlin avoids Daytona 500 wreck, Josh Berry not as lucky
PREECE FLIPS CAR AGAIN AT DAYTONA: Watch Ryan Preece ride on two tires, then flip over in wild Daytona 500 crash
"That, 'Wow that guy just did something that is hard to do, it shows that he's better than the rest of them,' we've lost that," Hamlin said. "It's just a matter of wrecks at superspeedways and the Daytona 500 is a microcosm of the sport in general when it comes to how we crown our champions now."
The trouble, Hamlin said, began in 2015 when NASCAR started reducing horsepower claiming it was in the interest of safety, engine life and to make cars easier to control for drivers.
In reality, lower horse-powered engines have made it more difficult for drivers to develop the type of skills needed to make strategic moves, mainly when it comes to passing, while increasing the likelihood for more wrecks, Hamlin said. And wrecks translate to entertainment for many.
"The entertainment of it has far overtaken the sport of it, and I don't know how we reverse things," Hamlin said. "You will hear all week from the media, 'That's just superspeedway racing,' and all that is is a cop-out for those who make stupid moves. No one holds anyone accountable anymore. You chalk it up to, 'Well, it happens all the time.' How about we actually call out what it is? Are the cars making us do this? Are the drivers doing this?' It's a combination of both, I believe."
How bad is it?
"I'm losing my love of the sport because I feel like it's going by the wayside for the sake of entertainment," Hamlin said.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Denny Hamlin said he is losing his love for NASCAR
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