Denny Hamlin ran into Alex Bowman after the race at Martinsville Speedway; Officials comment
On Sunday, NASCAR went short track racing at Martinsville Speedway. The Monday water cooler discussions have begun following a drama filled post-race show in the playoff elimination finally.
Alex Bowman turned Denny Hamlin while battling for the race lead. Bowman went on to grab the race win.
After the race, Hamlin followed Bowman to the frontstretch. Hamlin parked his car in front of Bowman. The No. 48 driver stood on the gas and did a burnout around the No. 11 machine.
Hamlin then stepped on the gas and pulled nose to nose with Bowman. Hamlin stopped on the gas and did a burnout of his own with both middle fingers pointing out the front window.
In his post race interview, Hamlin called Bowman a “Hack.”
Related: Denny Hamlin runs into Alex Bowman after Martinsville win (Videos)
NASCAR comments on Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman after Martinsville Speedway
Now, we’re hearing NASCAR’s initial reaction to the post-race action in Martinsville, Virginia.
“We want excitement, we want emotion,” Scott Miller stated via SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio.
“That’s what makes the sport special. Every time that somebody does something, we get asked the question, ‘Should you do something?’ “
“When that’s what people seem to be screaming for. So, it’s a tough thing for us.”
“Like, it wasn’t that long ago when I think people were arguably, deliberately tearing their cars up during burnouts to avoid certain things during post-race inspection. Should NASCAR allow no burnouts? Then the fans come down on us, ‘Hey, there’s no post-race celebrations, it’s no fun.’ “
Related: Kevin Harvick on victory burnouts, pre-race tech and penalties
“So, those things are a super hard thing for the sanctioning body to get up in the middle of. We want emotion, tight racing and good competition.”
“There are things that are going to cross the line. What Denny did, close. We’ll all talk about it. It is Monday morning and we all got home at 11:00 last night after inspection was over. So, we haven’t had those conversations yet.”
“Still TBD on a few things that went on after the race. Again, emotion is good. There is a line and it’s not an easy line to establish. We’ll have those conversations.”
Kyle Busch is another driver that made headlines after Martinsville. The 2nd place finisher used a slur in post-race interviews. A penalty might follow for his use of the word. Any potential penalty would be announced on Tuesday.
Related: Martinsville race results from October 31, 2021 (NASCAR Cup Series)
Related: Kyle Busch uses slur after Martinsville; Driver issues apology (Video)
Links
Denny Hamlin | Alex Bowman | Martinsville Speedway | NASCAR
