Denny Hamlin has never been afraid of speaking his mind and after doing just that about the new Gen-6 cars in an interview, NASCAR decided to fine him, after which the driver said he would refuse to comply.
According to ESPN.com, Hamlin was fined $25,000 by NASCAR for making "disparaging remarks" about the new cars being used this season after the race last week at Phoenix International Speedway. Hamlin spoke about the single-file racing that the drivers used at Phoenix and mentioned that the cars did not race as well as previous models.
"Ultimately, I'm not OK with it," Hamlin told ESPN "NASCAR Now" reporter Jamie Little and other media outlets during the Gen-6 test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "This is the most upset and angry I've been in a really, really long time about anything ... anything that relates to NASCAR."
Hamlin said that he will not pay the fine and that despite the fact that he could be suspended he willl not comply with the ruling.
"The truth is what the truth is. I don't believe in this. I'm never going to believe in it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not going to pay the fine. If they suspend me, they suspend me. I don't care at this point," Hamlin said.
Based on the official rulebook, NASCAR can suspend Hamin for failing to pay a fine and it also says that the organization can take the fine money as part of winnings earned during the race over the weekend. NASCAR announced the fine for Hamlin on Thursday and said that his comments about the Gen-6 car violated Section 12-1 of the NASCAR rulebook.
Spokesman Kerry Tharp said NASCAR takes the criticisms seriously and that the comments could greatly hurt the sport as they try to move on with the new cars.
"Following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Denny Hamlin made some disparaging remarks about the on-track racing that had taken place that afternoon," NASCAR said in a statement. "While NASCAR gives its competitors ample leeway in voicing their opinions when it comes to a wide range of aspects about the sport, the sanctioning body will not tolerate publicly made comments by its drivers that denigrate the racing product."
NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton said that Hamlin can appeal the fine like any other situation and it will go through the normal appeals process.
"It's like every other appeal," he said. "Over the course of time, you remember mechanics and crew chiefs, whatever, if they appeal, then they can continue to carry on business as usual until the appeal has been heard and ruled on."
Pemberton said that although there has been no warnings given to drivers about making comments about the car, that it was something that has been discussed in the past with Sprint Cup members.
"Those were some of the conversations we may have had a few years ago," he said. "But it's more of a matter of fact that you can't criticize your core product, what you're trying to do. Constructive criticism is one thing, but there's different statements that people made that are damaging. That's where we won't tolerate those types of things."
Hamlin's comments came after the race at Phoenix and mentioned that fans complained to him about the single-file racing style in the Daytona 500 and other races.
"I don't want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our Gen-5 cars," Hamlin told reporters after the race won by Carl Edwards. "This is more like what the Generation 5 was at the beginning. The teams hadn't figured out how to get the aero balance right. Right now, you just run single-file and you cannot get around the guy in front of you. You would have placed me in 20th place with 30 [laps] to go, I would have stayed there -- I wouldn't have moved up. It's just one of those things where track position is everything."
Hamlin has been fined in the past for making his opinions public, including in 2010 when he was fined $50,000 for posting comments on Twitter about debris cautions at the Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. The fine for Hamlin this year is the second time NASCAR has dealt out a penalty, with Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements getting suspended for making a racial slur at the Daytona 500.
"I'll be honest, I'm not going to say anything the rest of the year ... as long as it relates to competition," Hamlin said. "You can ask me how my daughter is, and talk to me after wins about what have you. But as long as it relates to competition, I'm out from here on out.