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Denny Hamlin Sounds Off: Would Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. Even Survive in Today’s NASCAR?

David Castro by David Castro
February 12, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 6 mins read
0
Denny Hamlin Sounds Off: Would Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. Even Survive in Today’s NASCAR?

Feb 12, 2025; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The 2024 Martinsville race wasn’t just another chapter in NASCAR’s history—it was a turning point. What should have been a classic playoff battle turned into a controversy-fueled scandal, with accusations of race manipulation, strategic blocking, and manufacturer alliances dominating the headlines.

The fallout? Massive fines, brutal point deductions, and key suspensions. NASCAR officials scrambled to rewrite the rulebook, and in doing so, they may have fundamentally altered the art of superspeedway racing.

Now, Denny Hamlin—never one to bite his tongue—has weighed in, and his take is staggering:

“Dale Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Sr. would have never survived in today’s superspeedway racing.”

Hamlin isn’t questioning the Earnhardts’ talent—far from it. Instead, he’s sounding the alarm about NASCAR’s ever-tightening grip on race strategy. And the biggest casualty? The art of drafting, a skill that once separated the legends from the pack.


Martinsville 2024: The Scandal That Changed Everything

Martinsville has always been known for beating, banging, and high-stakes playoff drama. But in 2024, it became something more—a battleground for NASCAR’s integrity.

In the final laps:
🚨 William Byron sat on the Championship 4 bubble.
🚨 Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain—two other Chevy drivers—suspiciously avoided passing him.
🚨 Radio chatter hinted at a “plan” to keep Byron safe.

NASCAR wasn’t having it.

❌ $100,000 fines
❌ 50-point deductions
❌ Staff suspensions

But the penalties weren’t the real bombshell—it was what came next.

NASCAR rewrote the rulebook, cracking down on race manipulation and restricting who drivers could draft with. Suddenly, the fine line between teamwork and cheating became blurrier than ever.


Drafting: NASCAR’s Greatest Skill Now Under Fire

For decades, superspeedway racing was a chess match at 200 mph. Drafting wasn’t just a strategy—it was a survival tool.

  • Dale Earnhardt Sr. made it an art form, winning 10 times at Talladega and 17 superspeedway races overall.
  • Dale Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps, dominating Daytona and Talladega with 10 wins and a near-telepathic connection with Tony Stewart.
  • Drivers knew who they could trust in the draft. Even if they weren’t teammates, alliances were built on experience and instinct.

Now? NASCAR is telling drivers who they can and can’t work with.

Hamlin isn’t happy.

“I appreciate what NASCAR’s trying to do—keep the integrity of the sport. But when you’re telling drivers who they can and can’t draft with, it changes everything. It’s not the same game.”

And he’s right.

Imagine telling Dale Sr. he couldn’t push a Chevy, or Dale Jr. he couldn’t draft with Stewart. The very tactics that built legends are now being labeled as suspicious.


The “Friendship Bank” Is Now a Grey Area

Hamlin isn’t just speaking in hypotheticals—he’s living through the changes.

One of the biggest questions in the wake of Martinsville’s fallout is what counts as race manipulation.

Case in point: Hamlin’s 2024 superspeedway run with BJ McLeod.

“He was paying me back for the many superspeedway races where I’ve helped him,” Hamlin explained. “It’s a friendship bank. But now, is that considered manipulation? It’s a slippery slope.”

Where does NASCAR draw the line?

  • Blocking a rival? Legitimate defense or team orders?
  • Lifting to let a teammate in? Strategy or illegal collusion?
  • Manufacturers working together? Longstanding tradition or playoff tampering?

With these new race manipulation rules, even natural racing decisions are under scrutiny.


Hamlin’s Warning: NASCAR’s Credibility Is at Stake

Beyond the racing implications, Hamlin sees a bigger problem looming—NASCAR’s credibility with fans and bettors.

“When you bet on NASCAR, you’re hoping for the same integrity as the NFL,” Hamlin said. “If people think the finish is being manipulated, that’s bad for business.”

And he’s not wrong.

With sports betting integrated into NASCAR broadcasts, fans want to know they’re watching a fair competition. But if the perception grows that teams are manipulating results, it could erode trust in the sport itself.

And when drivers are second-guessing their own racing decisions out of fear of being penalized, NASCAR has a major problem.


Final Verdict: Has NASCAR Overcorrected?

There’s no question Martinsville 2024 forced NASCAR’s hand—the blatant manipulation was bad for the sport. But have the new rules gone too far?

Denny Hamlin’s bold claim that the Earnhardts wouldn’t survive today isn’t an attack—it’s a wake-up call.

🔴 Has NASCAR swung too hard in policing race strategy?
🔵 Will drivers be too scared to use the draft as a weapon?
⚪ Will fans start questioning race finishes more than ever?

If Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr.’s dominance wouldn’t be possible in today’s NASCAR, maybe it’s time to rethink the direction of the sport.

Because if the greatest drafting masters in history wouldn’t thrive under these rules, then what does that say about the future of superspeedway racing?

🔥 What do you think? Has NASCAR overcorrected, or is this a necessary evolution?

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