[autotag]Denny Hamlin[/autotag] might not be fighting for a NASCAR Cup Series driver’s championship, but there is still more to look forward to after Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin has Tyler Reddick, the driver of the No. 45 car at 23XI Racing, fighting for a title at Phoenix Raceway. However, he also could have seen his teammate Christopher Bell battling as well.
NASCAR determined that Bell committed a “safety violation” by riding the wall in the final moments of the Cup Series race at Martinsville, knocking him out of the Championship 4. Hamlin went on his podcast, Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin, and revealed his verdict on NASCAR’s decision to knock out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.
“In the end, I think [NASCAR] made the right call,” Hamlin said. “I don’t like it, but they wanted to avoid us wall-riding on last laps to either gain or defend positions. [Christopher Bell] didn’t have to do it. I think there was probably a little bit of panic in the moment because he just shipped it into Turn 3 to try to get past the [Bubba Wallace] in a panic because the No. 23 has issues or is falling back the last few laps. He sees him, he catches him quickly, he knows he needs his spot.”
Should Christopher Bell race for the NASCAR Championship?
Watch this move on the final lap. pic.twitter.com/3A3BrNe0fd
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 3, 2024
“So, he drives in there really deep, washes, gets out of control, gets in the marbles…and then CBell hits the wall. And in a panic situation there, he just guns it and tries to get to the line as quick as he can, where I think he would have been fine if he just glanced off of it and pulled it down. It was not going to be easy to pull down. He would have had to have stopped or come close it, and then accelerate off the corner, but I think it was the continuous wall contact that they deemed inappropriate.”
Bell’s decision to ride the wall ultimately cost him a shot at competing for a Cup Series title, but it didn’t come without other controversy surrounding race manipulation with Chevrolet and Toyota. NASCAR could do the unthinkable and change the Championship 4 if they felt it was necessary, but Hamlin won’t be able to gain from such a decision. He will rely on Reddick to bring him a championship as an owner.
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