Hamlin believes SAFER barriers should be everywhere at every track, talks about tweeting Joey Logano and says he's still waiting to be cleared to return to racing
Denny Hamlin won't be racing this weekend at Richmond and he remains frustrated about how he ended up sidelined in the first place.
Hamlin said he finds it hard to believe that tracks like Texas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway — where he was injured last month — don't have protective SAFER barriers covering every inch of their concrete walls.
"I have a picture of Texas Motor Speedway with highlighted areas of the racetrack where there are no SAFER barriers — and it's an overwhelming amount of spots," Hamlin said. "We just ran 196 (mph) there in qualifying. So that disturbs me. There are a lot of people making money in NASCAR, so let's help it be SAFER barriers where they should be – especially at these very very fast racetracks."
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Though Hamlin said he was just "unlucky" in Fontana — he hit one of the few spots that didn't have a soft wall, he said — Texas was more glaring. He called it "a little disturbing" that the racetracks would not be more proactive with safety measures.
"Somebody needs to cut their profit margin and contribute to making our sport safer," he said.
Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage was not available for comment.
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Following Hamlin's crash at Fontana, Sprint Cup director John Darby said the area at Auto Club Speedway would be reviewed by NASCAR and its coalition of independent safety experts who are employed to make suggestions on track improvements. Darby said that there could be consequences for a track if recommendations for safety improvement aren't implemented. Sanctioning agreements hold that tracks risk losing races if they aren't in compliance with NASCAR directives.
Auto Club Speedway spokesman David Talley told USA TODAY Sports the day after the March 24 race that the track would follow any recommendations made by the review.
Hamlin touched on several other topics after delivering Red Cross supplies to The Grooming Lounge, a barbershop which is a FedEx customer in downtown Washington:
-- Joey Logano. Hamlin has been poking at his rival on Twitter, even as recently as Sunday (when Logano was collected in a crash with Kyle Busch).
Hamlin acknowledged he was "probably just overly bitter" because contact with Logano put him out of the car, but said was tweeting as much out of boredom as anything.
"I was very, very close to tweeting him right before Texas (when Logano's car had trouble in inspection) saying, 'Hey, man, I've got a spot right beside me if you want to sit down and watch this race,' " Hamlin said. "I hit the delete button right before I sent that. I'm just poking fun and trying to entertain myself during my time off."
-- His future. If Hamlin isn't cleared anytime soon (he plans to start Talladega and get out of the car at the first caution if doctors allow), he'll "strongly consider" having surgery that could put him out for the entire season.
Hamlin has been battling bulging discs in his back for several years, and the Fontana crash made the problem much worse, he said.
The decision comes down to whether he wants to undergo a surgery that could have two outcomes: "Get better for the rest of my life or put myself in a small risk where I can never drive again.
"For me, as much pain as I'm in every day, I'm willing to take the risk," he said. "... I'm at the point now that if they don't let me back in the car in a timely fashion – where I'm just going to be racing for nothing the rest of the year – I'd just as soon do it now and get it over with and be strong and ready to go."
If the surgery isn't done now, Hamlin said he'll wait until the end of the season
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