Denny Hamlin Blasts NASCAR Over “Horrible Officiating!” at Talladega

The NASCAR Cup Series race last Sunday at Talladega Motor Speedway witnessed some wild moments and controversies. These moments once again attracted negative attention to the sanctioning body’s officiating, as many in the community including Denny Hamlin is furious with some of the non-calls from the weekend.

The Athletics’ Jeff Gluck, shared some notes from the Hauler Talk about this week’s officiating. Kyle Larson was not penalized for the alleged yellow-line infraction, as he didn’t go below the point and how not advancing his position helped Austin Hill to avoid a similar penalty. Todd Gilliland avoided penalty for forcing Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar, claiming the racer didn’t intent to do it.

This decision angered the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Hamlin, as he was infuriated with the decision making and reasoning that was reported by Gluck. He branded the calls horrible and slammed the sanctioning body for factoring in “intent” in decision making, considering they have never done the same before.

My goodness. This is horrible officiating or horrible comms. I think it might be both… Jeff, I’m dying to know. Since when does “intent” matter? I specifically remember NSC saying intent doesn’t matter in these situations. Well, until now.

Denny Hamlin wrote on X in response to Jeff Gluck.

My goodness. This is horrible officiating or horrible comms. I think it might be both.

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) October 28, 2026

The comments from the veteran driver got the attention of Mike Forde, the Vice President of Racing Communications, who clapped back at racer highlighting the notes were not exactly what NASCAR shared. Denny Hamlin didn’t let it slide though, as he responded by highlighting how he was responding to the reports and they might have been misquoted.

MF: Thanks for listening.

DH: I didn’t. I read. Which in case I’m guessing, Jeff just misquoted you.

Mike Forde and Denny Hamlin on X.

@mforde I didn’t. I read. Which in case im guessing Jeff just misquoted you.

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) October 28, 2026

Denny Hamlin still have hopes of winning the 2026 title

The Talladega race all but sealed the 2026 championship, as Kyle Larson now have 73 points gaps to Hamlin at P2 and unless he massively messes up next two weeks, he would be crowned the champion. But the No:11 driver is not losing his hopes and is confident that he is capable of making an impressive comeback at Martinsville next Sunday.

Winning is what we’re thinking about when we go to that track. We have a lot of confidence going there. There’s not another track on the schedule where we know what we can do when we get there. The past history would certainly support that. I’ve got so many races around there that I’ve got a great notebook on it.

Denny Hamlin said.

Further talking about the point, the star driver highlighted how alongside his two teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe is going to go all out for the championship. They will have the pace advantage next week and if they can capitalize on it, the chase would be closer than many fans expect.

It’s certainly up to us drivers to deliver that championship to Joe and Toyota because they’ve certainly had what we feel like is the best cars all year, and we want to capitalize on that. Those are strong tracks for us that we can go out there and race for a win.

Denny Hamlin added.

The comments from the champion driver are on point and shows the JGR driver haven’t given up on the chase yet. It would be interesting to see who everything is going to playout for the star driver in the upcoming weeks.  

Also Read: “It Was So Close!” Kyle Larson Confesses He Feared Losing Talladega Win Over Yellow-Line Controversy