![\"Denny](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Denny-Hamlin-Arms-Crossed-2024-e1726151168909.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Denny Hamlin during qualifying. <\/p>\n
Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing<\/a> No. 11 team are opting to take a calculated approach after NASCAR issued suspensions to two key over-the-wall pit crew members.<\/p>\n The penalties stem from the loss of a right-front wheel during the Bristol Motor Speedway<\/a> Night Race, something NASCAR has cracked down on to prevent loose tyres from becoming high-speed projectiles. It\u2019s a rule built purely around safety, and NASCAR has been strict about it in recent seasons.<\/p>\n Rather than serving those suspensions immediately, Denny Hamlin\u2019s team has chosen to defer them by one week. NASCAR rules allow that short delay<\/a>, giving teams breathing room to come up with a game plan instead of scrambling on race day, according to Matt Weaver of Motorsport<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why the Delay Makes Sense<\/p>\n This move means Jackman Joel \u201cB\u201d Bouagnon and front tyre changer Austin Maloney will now sit out during the upcoming races at Kansas Speedway<\/a> and the Charlotte Motor Speedway<\/a> ROVAL, rather than at Bristol.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a smart bit of timing. The first race in the second round of the playoffs is crucial, and the JGR No. 11 team may see Kansas as their strongest shot to pile up points or even lock in a win, which would make the next two weeks far less stressful.<\/p>\n On the flip side, road courses have historically been Hamlin\u2019s weakest track type. Losing top pit crew talent during a road course event like the ROVAL won\u2019t sting nearly as much as losing them during a high-speed oval where track position is everything.<\/p>\n Matt Weaver<\/a> also noted that this one-week deferral helps teams avoid clogging the appeals process. It keeps the focus on racing instead of dragging out paperwork and hearings that often end up changing nothing.<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin Explains Tire Failure After the Incident<\/p>\n Shortly after the race, Denny Hamlin summed it up with a shrug.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is what it is,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cWe were the only car on pit road at the time, and unfortunately, the tyre fell off.\u201d<\/p>\n Denny Hamlin explained that he\u2019d brushed the wall the lap before, which could\u2019ve damaged the car.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was clearly an issue with the car,\u201d he added. \u201cI can\u2019t tell if the suspension was broken, but something was off.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to describe the moment things went sideways:<\/p>\n \u201cI knew something felt off, the right front started shredding coming off the corner, kind of the same feeling we had back in the spring. We tightened it up too much overnight, and once it went, it just blew the right front right off the car. We\u2019d hit the wall the lap before, so maybe something broke in the suspension.\u201d<\/p>\n Eyes on the Long Game<\/p>\n At the end of the day, Denny Hamlin and his crew are playing the long game. They know the stakes are high and that one botched race can tank a playoff run. By deferring the suspensions, they\u2019re betting they can build a solid points cushion or even punch their ticket to the next round before losing two key members of their crew.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a risky gamble, sure, but in the high-stakes world of NASCAR playoffs<\/a>, sometimes you\u2019ve got to play chess while everyone else is playing checkers.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Denny Hamlin during qualifying. Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 team are opting to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-152616","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}