RICHMOND, Va. – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Denny Hamlin, said the statement of support issued Thursday night on behalf of Tony Stewart to the sanctioning body by the Sprint Cup Series Driver Council had “nothing to do with lug nuts.”
The heavy topic on whether NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams should be required to tighten five lug nuts during pit stops has quickly escalated, especially after last weekend’s Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway where a number of drivers were required to make green flag pit stops for loose wheels.
“I think it just showed the unity amongst us,” said Hamlin Friday afternoon at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. “It has nothing to do with lug nuts, or no lug nuts, or anything like that.”
“It was more about drivers believing they have a right to express their opinion when asked about it in an interview. We try to do our best to give honest answers and sometimes those aren’t always the best thing.
“I know I’ve been guilty of being too honest at times or too opinionated at times and it costs you a nickel or two. We just thought there should be some leniency there for someone who knows a lot about our sport and been in our sport a long time.”
When asked about the specific role of the council and if it had changed, Hamlin quipped, “I think that the drivers’ interests, the owners’ interests and NASCAR’s interests are 95 percent aligned most of the time. There are some things that we would like to see changed and sometimes that doesn’t align with what NASCAR thinks or the teams think.
“I think this was a pretty black-and-white thing from the drivers’ perspective to have a guy who’s coming back, he’s being interviewed, he responds to the question and he got fined for it.
“For us, I think it shows solidarity – we’re all in this together. We want to have one because that one voice will be a little bit louder and clearer when we go into meetings about where this sport is going to head from competition to safety.”
Hamlin’s comments stem from a surprising penalty against Tony Stewart who was fined $35,000 ironically on the same day he announced his return to the tour after recovering from a back injury – for remarks it considered disparaging in an interview with several reporters on Wednesday.
During an event for sponsor Mobil 1 near Charlotte, Stewart criticized NASCAR officials for allowing teams to “play games with safety to win races.”
“I guarantee you that envelope is going to keep getting pushed until somebody gets hurt,” Stewart said. “And you will not have heard a rant that’s going to be as bad as what comes out of my mouth if a driver gets hurt because of a loose wheel that hurts one of them.”
After the penalty was handed down, Hamlin – one of nine members of the drivers council provided a statement to NBC Sports, in which the group offered support of Stewart and its member agreed to share the cost of his fine, nearly $3,889 a member.
The question that remains is whether Stewart or any of the drivers who have voiced critical concerns about the situation crossed the line. Especially, for Stewart, the only driver fined for his comments so far.
Hamlin, often vocal about his own opinions of the sport doesn’t know where the line crossed for Stewart.
“We just believe that you should be able to express your opinion unless you’re just terribly trashing the sport itself and things like that,” he said. “I think every situation is different but we’ll just move forward from it.”
Hamlin said he has not heard a response from NASCAR officials regarding the council’s statement.
“Nothing from the series at all, but I’m sure we’ll all hear something at some point,” he said.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
