Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway proved to be a wreck-filled rollercoaster, taking out over half the field in one of the year’s most chaotic moments. Among the 22 drivers involved was Denny Hamlin, who didn’t just walk away with a battered race car — he walked away with questions. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin voiced his confusion about NASCAR’s scoring protocol, raising concerns about how cars involved in the same crash are scored differently.
Despite having a strong 2025 season with three wins already under his belt, the veteran driver left Atlanta with a 31st-place finish and a sour taste in his mouth. For Hamlin, it wasn’t just the wreck — it was the aftermath that didn’t make sense.
Scoring Confusion Sparks Outrage
Denny Hamlin didn’t mince words when explaining his confusion over how the field was scored after the major accident on Saturday night. During the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin shared that while in the garage area post-wreck, he was told he could “pass” certain cars — but those same cars, in his view, had already been behind him when the crash occurred.
“I’m in the garage, and they said, ‘Hey, you can pass the 24, the 22, blah, blah, blah. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, I was ahead of them when we all crashed.’” – Denny Hamlin
What bothered Hamlin the most wasn’t the crash itself — that’s par for the course at a superspeedway — but the fact that his team spent two hours repairing their car only to be scored behind drivers who, in his words, were “already behind” at the moment of impact.
“It’s why we spent two hours fixing our car is to beat the cars that we’re already ahead of when we crashed.”
Hamlin questioned the logic behind NASCAR’s scoring system in multi-car crashes where several cars don’t return to the track. He wondered whether some cars had been towed past the start/finish line, potentially altering their position in the scoring loop — a move that could have given them an undeserved advantage.
“Somebody needs to clarify for me.” – Denny Hamlin
Breaking Down the Big One at Atlanta
Atlanta’s high-banked chaos delivered what many now call “The Big One” of the 2025 season. The massive crash unfolded off Turn 2 and collected 22 of the 40 cars in the field. It didn’t matter whether you were fighting for the lead or hanging near the back — the carnage was unavoidable.
Hamlin offered a straightforward summary of how it all unfolded:
“All of us were in the top line pushing off Turn 2. Some zigged, some zagged, most crashed. I don’t know. I was on the bumper of the 42 (John Hunter Nemechek); he was on the bumper of somebody else in front of him. We all just got to speedway pushing zigging and zagging, and we all crashed.” – Denny Hamlin
For Hamlin, it was yet another example of how superspeedway racing is a mix of high-speed calculation and blind luck. You can make all the right moves, and still end up in a twisted pile of metal.
He accepted the crash itself as just “part of it,” but not without emphasizing how quickly a promising night can spiral into disappointment at tracks like Atlanta.
A Strong Season Still in the Making
Despite the frustrating outcome at Atlanta, Denny Hamlin remains a force in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Through 17 races, Hamlin has secured three victories and nine top-10 finishes, including eight top-5s. The No. 11 Toyota has been consistently fast, and Hamlin sits fourth in the overall standings — just 80 points behind William Byron, the current championship leader.
The Atlanta result marked only his third finish outside the top 20 this season, making it more of an outlier than a trend. Yet moments like this one — where scoring questions arise — can be morale-deflating, especially when a team invests time trying to gain every possible position after a wreck.
With street racing up next in Chicago, Hamlin will need to shift focus quickly. The Grant Park 165 is known for chaos of its own, with narrow turns, concrete walls, and unpredictable weather. It’s not the ideal rebound venue, but if there’s any driver who knows how to reset and refocus, it’s the 43-year-old veteran from Virginia.
News in Brief: Denny Hamlin Left Frustrated After Atlanta Wreck
Denny Hamlin’s frustration at Atlanta wasn’t just about the crash — it was about the confusion that followed. For a driver who’s seen nearly everything in his two-decade Cup career, the scoring system in Saturday’s race still left him scratching his head.
His podcast comments weren’t a rant — they were a pointed call for clarity. And it’s a fair one. If a driver is working to get back on track and beat other damaged cars, they deserve to know exactly how positions are determined. At this level, where every point matters in the playoff race, transparency is essential.
Hamlin and his crew left Atlanta with more questions than answers — but also with the same fire that’s kept them near the top of the leaderboard all season. If history is any guide, that frustration could very well fuel a statement race in Chicago.
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