“Ultimately, I’m not OK with it,” Hamlin told ESPN “NASCAR Now” reporter Jamie Little and other media outlets during the Gen-6 test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “This is the most upset and angry I’ve been in a really, really long time about anything … anything that relates to NASCAR.

“The truth is what the truth is. I don’t believe in this. I’m never going to believe in it. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to pay the fine. If they suspend me, they suspend me. I don’t care at this point.”

According to the NASCAR rulebook, failure to pay a fine may result in suspension. The rulebook also says unpaid fines may be collected by deducting money earned from a race weekend.

Hamlin issued a statement on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he will appeal the fine.

“The short of the long of it is I believe I was severely disrespected by NASCAR by getting fined,” he tweeted. “I believe that the simple fact of us not even having a conversation about this issue before I was hit with a fine has something to say about our relationship. What I said was 1 sentence taken completely out of context. Most drivers will tell you that we constantly have our AND nascars best interest in mind when speaking.

“On the other hand I am a person that worked very hard from the BOTTOM to get where I am today and someone telling me that I can give my 100 percent honest opinion really bothers me. Since being fined in 2010 I have been a lot more careful about what I say to media and I felt this past weekend felt completely in my rights to give a assessment of the question asked. I feel as if today NASCAR lost one of its biggest supporters vocally of where our sport is headed.

“So in the end there are no winners. I said today I would not pay the fine. I stand by that and will go through the process of appealing. Trust me, this is not about the money.. It’s much deeper. I will now shift my focus on giving FedEx and my team what they deserve this weekend, a win.”

Hamlin tweeted earlier in the evening that the statement came with no assistance from his public relations department or that of Joe Gibbs Racing .

“We have spoken with NASCAR and will continue to keep an open dialogue with them on this matter, but we will keep those discussions between the parties involved,” Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement released Friday. “We will fully support Denny in his appeal process.”

NASCAR announced the fine on Thursday, saying Hamlin’s comments violated Section 12-1 of the NASCAR rulebook that includes all actions detrimental to stock car racing.

Spokesman Kerry Tharp said the governing body draws the line on criticizing the new car that NASCAR has spent the past few months promoting.

“Following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Denny Hamlin made some disparaging remarks about the on-track racing that had taken place that afternoon,” NASCAR said in a statement. “While NASCAR gives its competitors ample leeway in voicing their opinions when it comes to a wide range of aspects about the sport, the sanctioning body will not tolerate publicly made comments by its drivers that denigrate the racing product.”

NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton said Hamlin can appeal the fine.

“It’s like every other appeal,” he said. “Over the course of time, you remember mechanics and crew chiefs, whatever, if they appeal, then they can continue to carry on business as usual until the appeal has been heard and ruled on.”

Pemberton said there was no warning given to drivers about criticizing the car during preseason competition meetings.

“Those were some of the conversations we may have had a few years ago,” he said. “But it’s more of a matter of fact that you can’t criticize your core product, what you’re trying to do.

“Constructive criticism is one thing, but there’s different statements that people made that are damaging. That’s where we won’t tolerate those types of things.”

Hamlin was critical of the Gen-6 car and single-file racing at Phoenix a week after fans complained about the single-file racing in the Daytona 500.

“I don’t want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our Gen-5 cars,” Hamlin told reporters after the race won by Carl Edwards. “This is more like what the Generation 5 was at the beginning. The teams hadn’t figured out how to get the aero balance right.

“Right now, you just run single-file and you cannot get around the guy in front of you. You would have placed me in 20th place with 30 [laps] to go, I would have stayed there — I wouldn’t have moved up. It’s just one of those things where track position is everything.”

Pemberton, while not addressing the performance of the car of which Hamlin was critical, said NASCAR and Goodyear are looking at building tires that could improve performance.

“It comes in many different ways, shapes and forms,” he said. “It comes in tire sizes, tire widths, heights, staggers. It comes in whether the tire is a softer left and a harder right that may perform better or vice versa.

“As many of you know, Goodyear continues to test every year to try to improve tire wear or tire grip. So that is ongoing.”

This isn’t the first time Hamlin has been fined for voicing his opinion. He was docked $50,000 in 2010 for comments on phantom debris cautions made on Twitter following the Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

It is the second time a NASCAR driver has been penalized for comments this season. Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements was suspended indefinitely after the season opener at Daytona International Speedway for using a racial slur in the presence of an MTV reporter.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not going to say anything the rest of the year … as long as it relates to competition,” Hamlin said. “You can ask me how my daughter is, and talk to me after wins about what have you. But as long as it relates to competition, I’m out from here on out.

“The bad part is I feel I’ve been a pretty good spokesman for [NASCAR] in being positive when things aren’t always positive. They lost one small spokesman today, that’s all.”

Michael Waltrip Racing’s Clint Bowyer, who also drives a Toyota, said that what happened to Hamlin would not impact what he says in the future.

“You know, I’m going to shoot you straight,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. You guys included. We’ve got to — this is an important time for us. We’ve got a great thing going with this Gen-6 car.

“Our manufacturers have spent millions of dollars on this race car and we’re all proud of it — NASCAR included. Anything is going to take time. Anytime you make something — completely start over from scratch — and do things to make your program better, your sport, or whatever you want to call it, it’s going to take time. It’s a work in progress. You’re not just going to start the very first race out with something new.”

Hamlin is fourth in points after his third-place finish at Phoenix. A suspension ultimately could lead to his missing the Chase for the first time in his Cup career.

“It’s an opinion,” Hamlin explained of what he said. “It’s not even a bad one. I have to be careful. I don’t want to make things worse than they already are. And this is something that was absolutely nothing, and it got blown into something.

“It’s just going to be worse for them. Let them deal with it.”

The post Denny Hamlin to appeal $25K fine appeared first on IdealCapper.

“We believe strongly that we made the right move,” O’Donnell said of Clements’ suspension. “Our go-forward plan with Jeremy is to quickly engage Dr. Richard Lapchick to work with Jeremy as soon as possible and get Jeremy back in the race car as soon as possible and as soon as we deem fit.”

Lapchick is considered one of the leading experts in the world on race relations in sports. He is the son of former NBA player Joe Lapchick. Richard Lapchick has won numerous national awards for his work on civil rights.

Clements, 28, was indefinitely suspended Wednesday after NASCAR officials said he made an “intolerable and insensitive remark” before the Nationwide Series race last weekend at Daytona.

The post VP defends Jeremy Clements ban appeared first on IdealCapper.

She wound up finishing 39th.

Patrick was on the lead lap, running 26th on Lap 185 of the 312-lap event, when the tire blew as she was coming out of Turn 4. At that point, she wasn’t able to turn the car, so it slammed into the SAFER barrier on the right front corner of the car.

Pieces of the car flew off the car as the back tires lifted off the ground. When the car bounced off the wall, David Ragan’s car slammed into the driver side door panel of Patrick’s car, shearing off most of the left-side sheet metal of Patrick’s Chevy as the hood flew off. Pieces of Patrick’s car were visible for more than 200 yards down the frontstretch.

“When you lose a tire out of the turn, those are tough because you hit [the wall] more straight on,” Patrick said. “That was a hard hit on both sides, but I’m fine. There was no real good warning. No vibrations.

“It just sucks to lose the points. We were having a steady day; not great, but making progress.”

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After a miserable week at Daytona, Edwards had plenty to celebrate.

That it came at Phoenix International Raceway only seemed fitting.

Coming through on his promise to dominate after his Daytona disaster, Edwards pulled away on a late restart and snapped a 70-race winless streak on Sunday, the second long drought he’s ended at Phoenix.

“This win feels as good or better as any win I’ve ever had,” Edwards said.

Edwards had a rough 2012 season, missing the Chase for the championship. His downward spiral continued at Daytona, where he wrecked five cars. On his way out of Florida, Edwards said he was ready to dominate and win at Phoenix.

He did just that, leading the final 78 laps on the 312-lap race around PIR’s odd-shaped oval in the first non-restrictor-plate race with NASCAR’s new Gen-6 car.

Edwards got a good push from defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski on the restart with two laps left and pulled away from there, winning for the first time since Las Vegas in 2011.

After parking his car at the finish line, Edwards landed his first backflip in nearly two years and celebrated with the fans — just like he did at PIR after ending another 70-race winless streak in 2010.

“I’m sure it’s a relief for someone like Carl,” said Denny Hamlin, who finished third and had a long winless streak end at Phoenix last year. “He’s now relevant again, he really is and it’s a good sign for their race team for things to come.”

The big duel came behind Edwards.

Despite struggling with his car most of the day, Hamlin made a bold move on the last lap with a pass on the apron below the dogleg. He popped up alongside Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson and the two drag-raced to the finish, where Johnson edged him by a few inches.

Keselowski, who was outside Johnson during Hamlin’s move, finished fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended up fifth.

“As far down as I was, I was committed, there was nothing that I was going to do where I would back out,” Hamlin said. “I just hoped I would have just slid in front of the 48, then you risk getting punted and spun, and your whole day you’ve worked everything for is taken away in a corner. I held my line and thought I really did the right thing and gave those guys room to pass me back — and one of them did.”

The last Phoenix race, in November, set up Keselowski for his first Sprint Cup title after Johnson blew a tire. It also featured quite a sideshow.

A running feud between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon boiled over late in the race, setting off a brawl in the pits and Bowyer on a WWE-style dash to Gordon’s hauler.

The drivers tried to downplay the confrontation after arriving in the desert this week, but it’s been hard to avoid, with video of the scrap-and-dash being shown all over in promos for the race and replays.

Ryan Newman had the only dash this time around, running across the track and away from his car after it blew a right-front tire for the second time in 140 laps.

Inside his car, Mark Martin failed in his bid to become the oldest Sprint Cup winner.

The 54-year-old became the second-oldest driver to start on the pole in a Sprint Cup car, a few months short of Harry Gant’s mark. Martin led the first 49 laps and 26 more later on, but couldn’t sustain it in his bid to become the oldest Sprint Cup winner, finishing 21st.

“Obviously, it’s a disappointing result for a great effort on the weekend,” Martin said. “The car was pretty fast, but we had multiple problems today.”

So did Danica Patrick, who had a rough follow-up to her breakthrough week at the Daytona 500.

Patrick became the first woman to win a pole and lead green-flag laps during NASCAR’s season opener, sending her popularity to a new level.

But she couldn’t stay with the leaders at Phoenix, ending her day with one of the hardest hits of her career. It happened with about 100 laps left, when the right-front tire on Patrick’s No. 10 Chevrolet went down and slammed her into the wall.

Patrick’s car careened back into David Ragan, flipping her hood over the windshield and shredding the left front fender as protective foam from the driver’s side door flew onto the track.

She came to a stop along the inside wall with a trail of debris covering about half the home straightaway behind her. She climbed from the car and was quickly cleared by the medical center.

“Whenever those right-fronts go, they always hit hard because you don’t broadside, you hit more straight on,” said Patrick, who finished 39th. “It took a hard hit both sides and I’m fine, so NASCAR is doing a good job at safety. But no real good warning. The car wasn’t all that tight and most of the (problems) were in the rear, so there was no real vibration that told me that was going to happen.”

Edwards set himself up for this victory with a late-night call to new crew chief Jimmy Fennig, knocking on his door around midnight Saturday to go over some last-minute details. For race morning, Edwards went for a hike to clear his mind and get focused.

It paid off, ending two years of frustration and self-doubt that grew as the streak grew.

“Last year we didn’t even make the Chase,” Edwards said. “For me to sit home while everybody was at the Chase stuff and in Vegas, that was a little bit of a shock to me and I did not like that at all. To get a victory puts us in better position to be in the Chase, it just feels good to win and I’m just very glad to be here.”

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