Denny Hamlin crossed the finish line last Saturday at Daytona in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and wound up 11th, but he’s convinced that’s not where he should’ve been. The driver of the No. 11 believes a top-10 result was snatched away from him due to a major timing issue with NASCAR’s caution lights on the final lap. Instead of Hamlin hitting the top ten, Josh Berry landed in ninth place while Hamlin was ranked 11th.
Hamlin Calls Out “Syncing Issue” After Daytona Finish
The call to place Hamlin 11th clearly left the Cup Series points leader puzzled after the race. Look, it wasn’t about the points for Hamlin here; he’d already locked up the top seed for the Chase, so the overall standings weren’t his concern. But he immediately hit up NASCAR for a discussion after the race, revealing on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast that he plans a follow-up. Why? Because Hamlin isn’t just letting this slide. He wants to nail down the caution light procedure to avoid future misunderstandings. “I think there’s a syncing issue,” Hamlin said. “The timestamp they have of they said, ‘OK, we pressed the button here,’ that’s the timestamp. Then, we go to all the in-car cameras and they’re going to walk me through the process and, again, 10th, 11th , my points are the same going into this weekend. I just want to make sure for future references, there are no discrepancies.” Sounds like a smart move to me; nobody wants race outcomes decided by confusing timestamps!
The Camera Doesn’t Lie, But the TV Might?
Hamlin’s sticking to his guns on this one. He believes Berry, in the No. 21 Woods Brothers Racing Ford, should have been behind both Hamlin’s No. 11 JGR Toyota and Cole Custer’s No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford when those caution lights actually flipped on. “I told them, ‘Sir, I can tell you for a fact when the green light was on, the 21 [Berry] was behind me and certainly way behind the 41 [Custer],” Hamlin stated. NASCAR’s rule is clear: if a caution hits on the final lap, the field freezes the moment the lights come on. Hamlin was adamant: “There’s a camera on those lights, so I’m saying, ‘I’m telling you, sir, the lights were green and we were past the 21 car, but he’s in front of the 41 and me?’ I said, ‘I think you have a timing issue.’”
Here’s where it gets interesting: on his podcast, co-host Jared Allen pointed out that the NBC broadcast showed a caution graphic about a second *before* the actual track lights came on. Hamlin acknowledged that point, believing it backs up NASCAR’s counter-argument. “So, there’s a delay then of when the competitors see it and that’s a decent delay there. The banner on the graphic on the TV way before the yellow lights [came on]. … That clearly backs up I think what NASCAR and Elton [Sawyer] are saying,” Hamlin explained.
This isn’t just about one guy’s 11th place finish; it’s about clarity for everyone on the track. Hamlin hopes for a clearer determination in the future. We’ll be watching to see if NASCAR gets this sorted, because nobody wants races decided by a second of lag between a TV graphic and the actual track lights!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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