Denny Hamlin ripped NASCAR’s new open exemption provisional rule which allows a driver from another series to compete even if they didn’t qualify. He also voiced his displeasure with a rumored change in the NASCAR playoffs.
First things first. For the 2025 season, NASCAR has implemented a new open exemption provisional rule. Beginning with this Sunday’s Daytona 500, this new rule adds a 41st spot to the starting grid for a driver from a non-NASCAR racing circuit, even if they failed to qualify through the standard system. On Sunday, longtime IndyCar star Helio Castroneves will be the first to be the beneficiary of the rule.
Denny Hamlin thinks the rule is “desperate” and that NASCAR is just “doing everything [they] can to try to get a headline.”
“NASCAR is the highest form of motorsports in the U.S., so why can’t we act like the big boys and say, ‘If you wanna come over here and run with us, show me what you got. Go qualify in the race.’ It won’t be that hard and to me as a car owner, we just talked about these playoff scenarios in which things can happen. Things out of your control can happen,” Hamlin said on his show.
“I was one David Starr brake rotor away from winning a championship in Phoenix one year, but that’s the breaks… Now you’re just saying f—— Tom Cruise can go in there and just because he said he raced in Days of Thunder, can come in there and compete on Sunday with the big boys. I don’t agree with that. It’s just my opinion on it.”
“After the duel, you think Castroneves is gonna be jumping for joy? No, he will not be, he knows he’s in the race,” Hamlin continued. “…this is not an indictment on him whatsoever. I hate that he’s getting the brunt of this because he had no role in it whatsoever. I love him and his attitude. I hope some of his avid fans come watch the Daytona 500 because you wouldn’t have otherwise.
“That’s what this is trying to do is maybe you get some new eyeballs to follow this person and tune in to see how they do and maybe you can keep him latched on for a longer period. That’s what this is aimed to do. And I understand that. I just think you put a crack in the Dam of Legitimacy. I believe it does.”
As for the NASCAR playoff system, Hamlin said at another point during his podcast, “I heard a dirty rumor and someone from NASCAR said it that maybe we should expand the championship race to five drivers. Like no, you’re going the wrong direction. Please don’t do that.
“You’re just watering this down more. Stop making it easier; make it harder. Make it harder.”
NASCAR, for what it’s worth, stated in a letter that it hasn’t made any final decisions regarding the playoff system for the 2026 season. “We owe it to the sport and our fans to explore the potential,” NASCAR stated.
