Denny Hamlin, well-known driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, has openly challenged NASCAR’s leadership credibility in the midst of the 2025 Cup season, sparking frustration among devoted fans and competitors alike. Hamlin raised concerns following a series of disappointing races, which have highlighted issues with car performance and race management, leading many to question whether NASCAR’s current leadership can restore trust and confidence to an increasingly uneasy fanbase.
This season, emotions have swung widely within NASCAR’s community. While some races managed to deliver moments of excitement, others were overshadowed by lackluster action and ongoing technical problems, especially those related to passing and aero inefficiencies with the Next-Gen cars. Racing fans, once optimistic, are beginning to express doubt about the sport’s direction as Denny Hamlin voiced his apprehension, insisting that faith in NASCAR leadership is eroding with each disappointing event.
On a recent episode of his podcast “Actions Detrimental,” Denny Hamlin directly confronted NASCAR’s recent statements about the state of superspeedway racing, particularly comments made by senior official Elton Sawyer following the Talladega event. Sawyer lauded the race’s clean status and the impressive number of lead changes—67 in total—but downplayed lingering concerns over car performance and competition. Hamlin pushed back, noting that the absence of major crashes should not overshadow the underlying flaws apparent to both fans and competitors.
When you had Elton [Sawyer] go on last week talking about Superspeedway racing and say, ‘I don’t understand. What do we have to fix? Look at the stats that we got for this week. We had 67 lead changes,’ and whatever else, I think you lose some credibility with the fans. I think the fans have a low morale right now due to their lack of faith in the competition leadership,
Denny Hamlin explained, giving a voice to the collective frustrations reverberating across the garage area and online communities. He criticized the apparent disconnect between NASCAR officials and the realities being faced on the track, arguing that empty statistics do little to address the concerns that matter most to drivers and supporters.
Tensions escalated after last Sunday’s event in Texas, where a string of wild wrecks and technical mishaps further dented the sport’s image. According to Hamlin, these recurring problems not only diminish NASCAR’s morale but ultimately sap the trust that fans and teams place in leadership.
It’s a tough position they’re in, but I think that they should just probably cancel the whole coming on the radio,
he advised, referring to NASCAR’s habit of airing explanations and justifications on weekly broadcasts. While Hamlin acknowledged the value of transparency, he warned that repetitive, defensive communication risks appearing dismissive of legitimate feedback from both drivers and fans.
Hamlin’s critique did not stop at public relations. He accused NASCAR of selectively presenting information in ways that obscure rather than address ongoing issues.
But when you go in there and you kind of brush off what every driver said and has said for quite some time with the superspeedway package, go back three years’ worth of podcast. I’ve said we’ve got a superspeedway problem and we’ve kept ignoring it. I just think that NASCAR created its own stats to make itself look good,
Hamlin said, underscoring a mounting sense of frustration within the sport.
The significance of Denny Hamlin’s remarks extends far beyond his own experiences. By openly questioning NASCAR leadership credibility, Hamlin encapsulates the emotional turmoil that has been brewing throughout the fanbase and the paddock. If the sport’s leadership fails to respond with meaningful actions, NASCAR risks losing not only the trust of its devoted fans but also the morale of drivers whose careers depend on fair and competitive racing. Fan faith, now visibly shaken, hangs in the balance as the season continues, and the urgency for change has never been greater.
