NASCAR fined Denny Hamlin $25,000 yesterday for comments he made regarding the new "Gen 6" cars after the Sprint Cup race at Phoenix. Denny basically said the new car was no better than the previous generation, dubbed the "CoT".
Denny has repeatedly said he has done nothing wrong and is refusing to pay the fine. he has since appealed and we are waiting for the appeals process to continue.
And I applaud him.
First, I must say that I am a Denny Hamlin fan. I have been since he entered NASCAR. He's from Virginia, so he's a somewhat local driver to me. We're also about the same age. That being said, it does not change my opinion. If it were Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson or Kurt Busch that made the same comments, I would have the same reaction to them getting fined. It's ridiculous.
NASCAR started a policy a few seasons ago called "boys, have at it." Basically, drivers were told to settle their differences on the track. Yet a driver is not allowed to speak their mind? What makes it even more ironic, NASCAR announced this week that the NRA was sponsoring a race in Texas. So NASCAR is endorsing 2nd amendment rights, but telling drivers to not execute their first amendment ones?
I don't like where this is going. It's going to either cause drivers to stop speaking to the media, or creating zombie-like interviews. I honestly would not blame Denny if he did not give any more interviews for the remainder of the season.
Wouldn't it be funny if he won the championship and didn't say anything at the awards banquet? Then again, he'd probably get fined for that too.
NASCAR got this one wrong, plain and simple.
Denny has repeatedly said he has done nothing wrong and is refusing to pay the fine. he has since appealed and we are waiting for the appeals process to continue.
And I applaud him.
First, I must say that I am a Denny Hamlin fan. I have been since he entered NASCAR. He's from Virginia, so he's a somewhat local driver to me. We're also about the same age. That being said, it does not change my opinion. If it were Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson or Kurt Busch that made the same comments, I would have the same reaction to them getting fined. It's ridiculous.
NASCAR started a policy a few seasons ago called "boys, have at it." Basically, drivers were told to settle their differences on the track. Yet a driver is not allowed to speak their mind? What makes it even more ironic, NASCAR announced this week that the NRA was sponsoring a race in Texas. So NASCAR is endorsing 2nd amendment rights, but telling drivers to not execute their first amendment ones?
I don't like where this is going. It's going to either cause drivers to stop speaking to the media, or creating zombie-like interviews. I honestly would not blame Denny if he did not give any more interviews for the remainder of the season.
Wouldn't it be funny if he won the championship and didn't say anything at the awards banquet? Then again, he'd probably get fined for that too.
NASCAR got this one wrong, plain and simple.
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