Last year’s NASCAR All-Star Race left a bad taste in Denny Hamlin’s mouth. After Joey Logano dominated, starting from the pole and leading 199 out of 200 laps, Hamlin didn’t hold back. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, he blasted the race’s lack of excitement. Hamlin said fans cared more about the fight between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch than the race itself. He criticized NASCAR for sticking to the same old $1 million prize, calling it outdated and boring.

Even before the race, Hamlin had hoped NASCAR’s new option tire would make things exciting. It didn’t. The tire didn’t degrade fast enough, and passing was almost impossible. Hamlin said, “If everyone runs the same speed, you’re not going to pass.” He even suggested that NASCAR should repave the track to make it rougher and wear out tires faster. Many drivers agreed with his opinion and asked NASCAR to make some serious changes.

Almost a year after that incident, NASCAR recently pitched a bold new idea to spice up the 2025 All-Star Race. The plan was to let teams “Run What Ya Brung“, build whatever they wanted as long as it passed safety checks. But instead of excitement, it triggered fear among teams and they outrightly rejected it. 23XI Racing team co-owner Denny Hamlin recently revealed why he and others quickly shot down the idea.

Denny Hamlin questions NASCAR teams!

For the 2025 All-Star Race, NASCAR wanted a shake-up. The race would feature a 250-lap main event with a scheduled break at Lap 100 for adjustments, and a surprise “promoter’s caution” between Laps 101-220 to bunch up the field. Notably, last year’s race had 200 laps. Additionally, qualifying would involve a three-lap run with a pit stop after Lap 2, and heat races would determine the inside and outside starting lanes.

However, the biggest rule that could have changed the race was “Run What Ya Brung.” It could have allowed teams to bring any setup they wanted as long as they used approved Next Gen parts and passed basic safety checks. But the biggest twist, letting teams build anything they wanted, was too much to handle behind the scenes.

Denny Hamlin, speaking both as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing and team owner of 23XI Racing, was crystal clear. “It’s impossible. It’s just not feasible. No team is going to sign up to voluntarily lose millions of dollars,” he said on Actions Detrimental. Why? Because the format would blow up their budgets. Hamlin broke it down: “We’re gonna destroy every piece and part of that car. Modify it. Bend the chassis. Make it lighter. Do all types of things.” A single car costs around $300,000. After a race like that? Useless. Additionally, not all teams have the same budget, leading to the bigger teams monopolizing the modifications.

In light of this financial disparity, co-host Jared Allen suggested that, “Couldn’t your teams get with each other and say, Let’s just alter this part, or let’s just affect the ride height?” Then, the producer Travis Rockhold delivered a damning verdict, saying, “You’re going to trust every team to follow these unwritten rules?” And Hamlin backed this up too, adding, “This sounds fantastic in theory, but these guys are all a bunch of freaking cheaters.” Then Denny dropped his NFL comparison, highlighting the controversy surrounding highly touted Shedeur Sanders slipping to the fifth round of the NFL draft. Sanders was a projected first-round pick, but Denny feels that NFL teams all worked against him, just like how NASCAR teams would work against each other.

Hamlin added, “When it comes to competition in sport, you’re going to do whatever it takes to win. You see it in kinda the whole Shedeur Sanders thing this week. These people think that the teams colluded to not draft him. Yeah right, these NFL teams are selfish as s—. They’re going to do whatever they can to win.” In a cutthroat sport like NASCAR, what’s stopping teams from gaining an unfair advantage for a bigger payday? Nothing!

In the end, the financial risk, competitive imbalance, and lack of clear rules made it impossible for teams to support it. Even though it could have created amazing racing, the real-world consequences were too harsh for teams already fighting to stay afloat. However, not everyone was against the idea. Roger Penske’s camp took a different tone. Michael Nelson, Team Penske’s President, said, “Bring it on. Whatever the rules are.”

Austin Cindric’s Crew chief, Brian Wilson, agreed, seeing opportunity in chaos. But Penske runs one of the best-funded operations in the sport. Hamlin pointed out that only giants like Penske, Gibbs, and Hendrick could even afford to modify parts with CNC machines. Smaller teams? They’d be left to rot. In the end, Hamlin insisted NASCAR needed to spend money on fixing short track racing, not force teams to do it for them at a huge loss.

After this backlash, the radical All-Star idea is dead for now. But it exposed deep financial tensions between NASCAR leadership and team owners. And it reminded everyone why unchecked competition, just like in the Shedeur Sanders saga, leads to ruthless behaviour. Looking ahead, Denny Hamlin has more challenges on his plate, including answering for his actions on track at Talladega, where a teammate crash stirred drama.

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Christopher Bell opens on Hamlin’s Talladega antics!

The Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega was pure chaos early. During a restart in Stage 1, Denny Hamlin tried to push his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Christopher Bell, to the lead. But the push came too hard, too soon. Bell lost control, spun sideways, and crashed hard into Chris Buescher. Both Bell and Buescher’s races ended before they really got started. It was a brutal hit, but Bell stayed calm after the crash.

Speaking to reporters, Bell said, “It definitely was a brutal shot. Thankfully, my seat and HANS, everything worked really well.” But Bell made it clear he didn’t blame Hamlin. “Denny didn’t do anything wrong. You have to push to be successful. It’s just a product of the cars we race with this rules package.” On the radio immediately after the crash, Hamlin apologized. “Man…apologies if that’s on me. We weren’t even up to speed yet,” Hamlin said.

He wasn’t sure if he even made contact at that point. But clearly, the tight racing and fragile setups at Talladega left no room for error. However, not everyone was as forgiving as Bell. Chris Buescher, who was collateral damage of that wreck, saw his crew chief, Scott Graves, slam Hamlin in a post-race comment. Graves said it was frustrating that drivers who consider themselves the best couldn’t even make it through a restart cleanly. “I see why you have an insurance sponsor Denny Hamlin; can I file a claim?” he posted on X.

Still, Bell showed maturity and understanding. He knows how tricky superspeedway racing can be under the current NASCAR rules. When you’re the lead car, you’re at the mercy of the guy behind you. Bell’s calm reaction helped cool down a situation that could have turned ugly between teammates. For now, Denny Hamlin has bigger fights ahead, with NASCAR’s system, team finances, and the push for better racing across all tracks.