Hamlin the REAL villain

Hamlin's intentional cheating deprived Dale Jr. of a victory.

I felt bad for Denny Hamlin. He clearly was the class of the field at Richmond. I suspect he was not thinking clearly. He probably felt justified. But, intentionally stopping on the track to draw a caution is cheating. You can argue about what happened between Kyle and Dale Jr. but you would not call it cheating, especially if you are a Dale Sr. fan.

Denny's decision affected the outcome of the race in favor of his teammates as well as himself. Was this part of his calculation? I hope not. If Denny knew the worst he could expect was a two lap penalty then it may have been tactically superior to pitting under green (something for NASCAR to think about).

Denny was the real villain who deprived Dale Jr. of his first win in two years. Kyle, however, is much better at playing the part. Denny was gracious in his interview after the race, despite his disappointment. Kyle on the other hand was self centered and unapologetic. I believe the Kyle scandal will be an ongoing story and the REAL villain will go practically unaccused.

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• Earnhardt, Denny, Hamlin, Kyle, Busch, Richmond, scandal, Junior, dale, Cheating