Denny Hamlin secured the checkered flag for the third time this season with his fierce driving style as he took revenge against a bitter rival Ross Chastain at Pocono Raceway.
Hamlin celebrations were cut short after NASCAR later took away the win from him, leaving the racing community astonished.
Following inspection Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch were disqualified after the race ended.
Former Cup driver Kenny Wallace was critical NASCAR handling of the matter he also pinpointed, what could have been done.
“@NASCAR . One of the only sports in the world where you go to Victory lane… But… Not for real. 😳. Maybe we should start a 30 minute TV Show (after the race) called… “Tech Inspection”… Then declare the winner😁🏁”
@NASCAR . One of the only sports in the world where you go to Victory lane… But… Not for real. 😳. Maybe we should start a 30 minute TV Show (after the race) called… “Tech Inspection”… Then declare the winner😁🏁
— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) July 25, 2022
“When I worked for @SiriusXMNASCAR radio. I ALWAYS stated on radio that I had a problem with the way we declared winners in @NASCAR . 2 years ago we announced winners on Tuesday-Wednesday after tech inspection at the R&D shop. We can do better,” Wallace wrote in a tweet.
Managing Director of NASCAR Brad Moran confirmed the disqualification of both the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers while he also refused to elaborate on the detailed reasons to do so at the time.
According to NASCAR, Denny Hamlin is the first Cup Series race winner to be disqualified time since 1960.
That year at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina, Emanuel Zervakis was disqualified for having an oversized fuel tank, which made Joe Weatherly the eventual winner.
Why wasn’t McDowell disqualified as well?