Denny Hamlin sends clear message amid NASCAR's intensifying penalties: "It's just a game of if you get caught or not"

Denny Hamlin sided with NASCAR while addressing the recent surge in penalties issued. According to the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, penalties should be levied only by the book and never negotiated.

The 2025 season is not even halfway through, and already, the penalties are stacking up fast. Erik Jones at Martinsville, Ryan Preece and Joey Logano at Talladega, and Chris Buescher at Kansas; the list goes on.

Are there too many penalties? Weighing in on the matter during an interview with Frontstretch.com, Denny Hamlin said,

“It certainly got to be fair for everyone. I had a race win taken away, so yeah, one for all, for sure. Whatever the infraction, whatever it says in the book is what the penalty should be level. It shouldn't be negotiated up or down, or anything like that, just by the book.”

That is how the sport plans on keeping things equal for everyone, Hamlin suggested. He then pointed out that the NextGen car is the main reason behind the spike in infractions.

“Teams are trying to find any edge that they can with the Next-Gen car because you’re boxed in so many areas… It’s just a game of can you get caught or not,” Hamlin detailed.

Denny Hamlin is hours ahead of this year’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. He has won it before (2015) and now looks forward to bagging his second All-Star victory.

Fans can watch the action unfurl on Fox Sports 1, 8 pm ET onwards, or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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When Denny Hamlin got slammed with back-to-back DNFs

There was nothing that Denny Hamlin could do when his No. 11 Toyota Camry caught fire at Texas Motor Speedway a couple of weeks ago, ejecting him early from the race. He was awarded a P38 finish and his first DNF of the season.

A week later, Hamlin arrived at Kansas Speedway with renewed hopes of bagging his third win of 2025. After all, it’s a track where he has delivered four wins in the past.

However, a clutch issue plagued the Tampa, Florida native at the tri-oval intermediate speedway. Still, he pulled it together, wheeling his car to the very end, completing 199 of 267 laps.

But luck had decided otherwise. Despite the team’s best efforts, Hamlin’s transaxle failed, leaving him 36th in a 38-car field. The driver left Kansas with his second straight DNF.

“Yeah, I think eventually just broke the transaxle trying to leave the stall there," said a dejected Hamlin. "Unfortunate for the Progressive Toyota team. Really fast again – just can’t keep it together right now.”

For the first time since 2013, Denny Hamlin was handed back-to-back DNFs. His next points-paying race, the 66th Coca-Cola 600, is scheduled for May 25. That is when the American will get his shot at redemption.