Denny Hamlin rejects NASCAR’s explanation for the Chicago race controversy: “You are not doing your job”

Denny Hamlin called out NASCAR on his Actions Detrimental podcast. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver bagged a top-five last Sunday in the Grant Park 165 Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Circuit. However, what seems to have stuck with him is how NASCAR took a while to throw a caution when Cody Ware hit the tire barrier on Lap 74.

The incident took place at Turn 6 of the 12-turn, 2.2-mile racetrack, when Ware was travelling 93 miles per hour in the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing entry. TNT failed to capture the severity of the hit, and as a result, NASCAR waited nearly 35 seconds before announcing the caution.

By then, race-winner Shane van Gisbergen had taken the white flag, meaning the race was going to end with the checkered flag on the following lap. However, NASCAR allegedly fell short.

Reflecting on the same, Denny Hamlin said (27:39),

“They're saying they didn't see how big the hit was. That... I don't understand that. You were not doing your job as officiating if you don't see.”

What’s more alarming is that Cody Ware was heard calling for help on his radio. As mentioned by Jeff Gluck of The Athletic in one of his recent tweets, NASCAR did not see how hard the impact was. They were hoping that the driver would be able to dislodge himself like Kyle Larson did last year.

“It's one thing to look over and say, "Oh, there's a car over there." You got to know how they got there!” Denny Hamlin added.

Thankfully, Ware walked away unharmed. He was awarded a P26, alongside his fifth DNF of the 2025 season. He sits 36th on points with no top fives or top-10s to his name.

---

Denny Hamlin opens up on how he overcame his road course slump

Per reports, Denny Hamlin wasn’t doing great on road courses, bagging only one top-10 in 18 road course starts. It almost seemed like the driver was cursed at NASCAR’s street circuits.

However, the 57-time Cup Series winner was able to break through that curse and log an impressive P4 at Chicago last Sunday. But it didn’t come easy. His car blew up during practice, and his team had to rush in to make a last-minute engine swap.

As a result of the fiasco, the Tampa, Florida native, was sent to the rear of the field. Still, the veteran racer managed to finish inside the top five. During a post-race interview, Hamlin revealed how he did it.

“Well, I was saving the entire run and still able to run excellent lap times," Denny Hamlin told Marty Snider (2:17). “Truthfully, I felt pretty good all day. We marched forward all day long. The car had pace in it—that's key to getting a good finish.”

"Once I was able to get towards the front, I could save and take it easy on the tires. I would've loved to be on equal terms to see how far off I was from those two guys, but it just didn't seem like that much,” he added.

Next up for Denny Hamlin is the Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on July 13. Fans can watch the race on TNT Sports, 3:30 pm ET onwards, or listen to live radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.