Denny Hamlin addresses Ryan Preece’s meltdown during the All-Star weekend

Denny Hamlin backed Ryan Preece’s frustration after a costly penalty took the latter out of contention during the All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway. On his podcast Actions Detrimental, Hamlin said the RFK Racing driver had a right to be upset, especially over the unclear view of the restart commitment box that led to the penalty.

Preece had been running second late in the race with 17 laps to go, but NASCAR sent him to the back of the field for driving over the restart box. Drivers must pick a lane, inside or outside, before reaching the commitment zone. Preece said it was hard to see the area clearly in the dark.

Speaking about the situation that led to Preece’s penalty, Hamlin shared:

"I'd love the ability when I have an opinion to be very firm in my opinion that this is what's right, and NASCAR is absolutely right," Hamlin noted. "But Preece absolutely has a bitch about it, and that is that you couldn't see the damn thing. The night before, during the Open, I could not see it."

"So what I did is, I looked for the cones that are on the fence, that's our secondary point of reference, and then I just swerved so far low or high that I had no idea where it was," the Joe Gibbs Racing driver added. "It was so, so dark. Think about this as well, the track also is going downhill into turn one, so your view of the track is just not great anyway."

When asked if anyone had raised the visibility issue during the weekend, Hamlin acknowledged he kept quiet.

“I thought it, but I just said, ‘I’m aware of it now and I’ll let somebody else f**k up.’ Never interrupt your competition while they’re making a mistake,” he said.

Ryan Preece, who started fifth in the All-Star Open, finished 11th after the penalty. He is currently 15th in the drivers' standings with 251 points.

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What did Ryan Preece say about his penalty in the All-Star Open?

Ryan Preece didn’t hold back when asked about the penalty that ended his shot at making the All-Star Race. After the race, he told FS1’s Regan Smith that the restart commitment box was nearly impossible to see from inside the car.

“It’s really nonexistent from inside the car,” Preece said (via NBC Sports). “You can’t see it. So I just hooked a hard left going across the line, figuring it’s in that area. I’m frustrated because if you have a situation like that, put a cone out there so we can see it.”

The RFK Racing driver was also disappointed because he felt his No. 60 Ford Mustang was one of the fastest cars on track, and he could easily make passes on the other guys. After the race ended, NASCAR responded by having track workers repaint the restart box.

The markings had faded beneath the rubber laid down earlier during the Modified race, which likely made it hard for drivers like Ryan Preece to see the box during the All-Star Open.

Preece will return to racing action on Sunday, May 25, in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.