Denny Hamlin Sounds Off on ‘Syncing Issue’ With NASCAR’s Caution Lights

Denny Hamlin posted an 11th-place finish in last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. However, there was confusion on the driver of the No. 11’s end on why he finished where he did.

Based on the timing of when the caution came on the final lap of Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, Hamlin believes he scored a top-10 result. Instead, the 45-year-old was ranked 11th, while Josh Berry earned a ninth-place run.

The call to place Hamlin 11th left the Cup Series points leader puzzled after the race.

Hamlin on NASCAR’s caution light: ‘Think there’s a syncing issue’

It did not matter to Hamlin where he finished at Daytona. Because the Joe Gibbs Racing star had already locked up the top seed for the Chase, he was not concerned about points.

However, Hamlin had a discussion with NASCAR following the race as he revealed on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast. Hamlin plans to have a follow-up discussion about the caution light procedure in the future to avoid future misunderstandings.

“I think there’s a syncing issue. … The timestamp they have of they said, ‘OK, we pressed the button here,’ that’s the timestamp. Then, we go to all the in-car cameras and they’re going to walk me through the process and, again, 10th, 11th — my points are the same going into this weekend. I just want to make sure for future references, there are no discrepancies,” Hamlin said.

Berry finished ninth in the No. 21 Woods Brothers Racing Ford, followed by Cole Custer in the No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford in 10th.

Hamlin, who took 11th in his JGR Toyota, believes Berry should have been behind both he and Custer based on the time of when the caution lights was turned on.

“I told them, ‘Sir, I can tell you for a fact when the green light was on, the 21 [Berry] was behind me and certainly way behind the 41 [Custer],” Hamlin said.

Hamlin noted that NASCAR keeps a camera on the caution lights, often shown on the TV broadcast during the last lap in case of a caution. NASCAR’s procedure is that if a caution is called on the final lap, the field is frozen based on the moment the lights turn on.

Hamlin was adamant that Berry was behind both he and Custer when the caution light was triggered.

“There’s a camera on those lights, so I’m saying, ‘I’m telling you, sir, the lights were green and we were past the 21 car, but he’s in front of the 41 and me?’ I said, ‘I think you have a timing issue,'” Hamlin said.

Hamlin believes TV broadcast shows the caution sooner than NASCAR

During the podcast discussion, Hamlin’s co-host Jared Allen watched the replay of Saturday’s final lap. Allen pointed out that the NBC broadcast of the race showed a caution graphic about a second prior to the actual track caution lights turning on.

Hamlin acknowledged Allen’s point during the show and believes that is where NASCAR’s argument against him stems from.

“So, there’s a delay then of when the competitors see it and that’s a decent delay there. The banner on the graphic on the TV way before the yellow lights [came on]. … That clearly backs up I think what NASCAR and Elton [Sawyer] are saying,” Hamlin said.

Still, Hamlin hopes there is a clearer determination in the future. Because if the TV broadcast is showing when the caution was called at one point, but NASCAR says otherwise, it could create a controversial end to a Cup Series race.

“What will happen is, yes, TV will convince the fans, ‘Look, the yellow light came on here. Freeze it. Who’s ahead?’ But the potential of NASCAR saying, ‘No, we pressed that button a second ago,’ and so then we use that video of evidence, so you could have a discrepancy there,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin enters Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500, the Chase opener, as the points leader. Amid his 21st full-time season, Hamlin is seeking an elusive first Cup Series championship.