In the latest episode of his podcast Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin laid out how he feels about the state of superspeedway racing and its effects on the Daytona 500 and the sport. This has sparked a wider debate across the NASCAR community about the superspeedway racing, the Daytona 500, and luck.
The latest episode of Actions Detrimental, promptly titled “Daytona 500: Entertainment Has Taken Over,” is 1 hour and 19 minutes of pure opinion on NASCAR. Most expected this episode to be interesting as, prior to the last lap crash, Hamlin was in a real spot to win his fourth 500.
The title speaks for itself, as Hamlin repeatedly states his opinion that the current state of superspeedway racing while entertaining to fans at times, is affecting the prestige of the Daytona 500. “I hate that what is supposed to be our most prestigious race, a showcase of heroes, is luck,” Hamlin said. “It is luck, and I don’t care how else you want to say it.”
This is, of course, in reference to William Byron winning his second Daytona 500 after avoiding a major crash on the backstretch. Fans have taken to the internet this week in droves, complaining about the drivers’ aggression, the quality of racing, and the fact that the race once again ended with some form of last-lap incident—with or without a caution flag.
In this episode, Hamlin also addresses the drivers responsible for these accidents and those who are smart enough not to start these accidents. However, the biggest takeaway is the prestige of the Daytona 500 and what Hamlin deems to be the sorry state of superspeedway racing.
The 2025 Daytona 500 was another conversation piece for fans. Since the introduction of the NASCAR Next Gen Car, superspeedway racing has turned into two—and sometimes three-wide racing with the cars perfectly lined up in a row.
In this car, some drivers feel they can no longer make the winning moves they used to. However, this is not just a problem with the car’s design, as teams are also focused on fuel saving surrounding stage breaks, and cautions. This emphasis on fuel saving has led to cars almost cruising around the track with little to no racing.
Nonetheless, this does not mean that superspeedway racing is any safer than it once was. Despite the fuel-saving and their lower horsepower engines, these packs can produce nasty multi-car crashes. This reiterates Hamlin’s point about the implications this style of racing has on the prestige of the Daytona 500. It feels as if winning the race is based on missing one or two major accidents rather than on skill.
A portion of the fanbase agrees with this sentiment, while the other portion has little to no problem with the race. Those who do not share in Hamlin’s opinion have pointed to Byron’s back-to-back wins as certification that the race is still about skill; however, Hamlin also addressed this point.
“William Byron legitimizes it because he won last year, and it’s like, ‘well, it’s clearly not a game of chance, you know, two in a row.’ So you’re gonna have that argument, but I just think that had it been someone else, I think you probably have more of a, whoa, like, can we do something to fix this?” — Denny Hamlin
When the podcast dropped last night, X blew up in response to Hamlin’s hot takes.
Mark Martin, who expressed similar opinions on superspeedway racing this past weekend, was short and sweet in his opinion on the new episode.
Content creator Dale Tanhardt stressed the value of Hamlin’s opinions, as, in the past, some have discredited them as those of someone mad about losing rather than concerned about the health of NASCAR.
Hamlin’s fanbase has taken pride in the unfiltered yet meticulous opinions the driver expressed.
However, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Dave Moody expressed that he feels that Hamlin is hurting his legacy by stressing the luck that goes into winning the 500.
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