On Sunday, during the Brickyard 400, Kyle Larson appeared to evade a penalty for the identical offense Chase Elliott committed earlier in the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, raising questions about favoritism.
Elliott was controversially penalized for running past the white line when entering pit road, but when it appeared that his Hendrick Motorsports teammate did the same thing, the No. 5 escaped punishment. That outraged other fans, who demanded to know why Larson was able to continue unharmed.
Well, Denny Hamlin answered that question on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, believing Larson’s infraction was much different from the one Elliott was penalized for.
“I didn’t see anything wrong with Kyle’s,” Hamlin said, regarding the controversial moment. “Yeah, he was on the line, he wasn’t above it though, so I didn’t see anything wrong with Kyle’s merge there, onto the surface.
“I think the tie kinda goes to the runner, in that instance, so I think that on the line is fine, above it, obviously, was not.”
Evidently, there was no favoritism in that situation, but other drivers, such as Ryan Blaney, might feel differently about the end of the Brickyard 400. Still, Denny Hamlin believes Kyle Larson was in the right in this scenario. Drivers will certainly have to be more cognizant of that line during their next trip to Indianapolis.
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