Denny Hamlin Sounds Off on ‘Syncing Issue’ With NASCAR’s Caution Lights

Denny Hamlin finished 11th in the recent Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, but he believes a "syncing issue" with NASCAR's caution lights contributed to his lower position. The driver contends that he should have been ranked 10th, ahead of teammate Josh Berry, who ended up ninth. Hamlin, who already secured the top seed for the Chase, is not concerned about the points.

However, he discussed the issue with NASCAR following the race and plans to have a future conversation about the caution light procedure to prevent similar misunderstandings. "I think there's a syncing issue. … The timestamp they have of they said, 'OK, we pressed the button here,' that's the timestamp," Hamlin told his podcast.

He pointed out that the in-car cameras show the caution lights turning on after the TV broadcast, causing a discrepancy. Hamlin believes the TV broadcast showed the caution graphic a second before the actual lights turned on, which might explain why Berry was ranked higher. NASCAR maintains that a caution is called and the field is frozen when the lights turn on, but Hamlin argues that there is a delay in how the information is displayed to the drivers.

He hopes NASCAR can establish a clearer determination in the future to avoid potential controversies during races.