NASCAR official confirms verdict on alleged Denny Hamlin rule breach

A NASCAR official has confirmed that Denny Hamlin didn't break the sport's regulations last Sunday, despite some speculation otherwise.

There had been some questions about whether Hamlin had broken the speed limit at the end of pit road, where the Joe Gibbs Racing star leapt three places to help snatch a surprise win at Darlington.

Hamlin leapfrogged Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney on pit road in a late caution, restarting expertly to take his second straight Cup Series win.

Managing Director of Racing Communications Mike Forde told the Hauler Talk podcast this week that Hamlin didn't break the pit road speed limit, or even come that close to it.

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NASCAR: Hamlin safe from rule breach

Forde explained: "Pit road speed is 45 mph [at Darlington]. We give a buffer of 5 mph. The No. 11 actually didn't even come close to going too fast. The last section, the 11 car was at 47.79 mph. Every other section it was near 49 mph. No black helicopters there. It was legit.

NASCAR.com journalist Nate Ryan added: "What confuses some fans is that he can't go above 50 mph in those sections. He can, it's just his average just needs to be below 50 mph. It's time over distance. It's not real-time speed penalties.

"Denny Hamlin was right near a timing line, which cars often are. Depending on if you're parked in front or behind that timing line, you can go really really fast on entry or on exit because the pit stop is included in that distance and that time. There's no way you can be speeding by the laws of psychics if you're including a 10 or 11-second stop in the middle of that."

Amanda Ellis, Sr. Director, Racing Communications, noted: "If he had been too fast on pit road, we would have been notified in race control. It's computer generated and immediately turns red."

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