The Cup Series race at Atlanta had plenty of storylines before and during the race.
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Joey Logano found himself in the middle of controversy, as he was found to have racing gloves that did not meet SFI specifications.
According to Jim Utter from motorsport.com, Logano's gloves were found to not only be a safety violation, but they also proved to be a competitive issue, as they had been altered to provide a potential competitive advantage.
Logano's gloves, shown in a video from qualifying, shows webbing in between his thumb and index finger, so he could put it in the hole in the window net to try to help reduce drag during his qualifying lap.
FOX Sports' Larry McReynolds explained the incident before Sunday's race. As a result of the violation, Logano was forced to the rear of the field and had to serve a pass-through penalty.
Joey Logano's glove penalty explained by @LarryMac28:#RaceDay | https://t.co/mRRDpA6iAy https://t.co/oy8V1MYfA8 pic.twitter.com/Mo8agc6bLh
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 25, 2024
The violation issue committed by Logano falls under Section 14.3.1.1 of the NASCAR Cup Series rule book. According to FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass, Logano has been fined $10,000, and NASCAR considers the pass-through penalty he served during the race sufficient punishment for the infraction.
While the punishment isn't as severe as initially thought, fellow driver Denny Hamlin certainly had his take on what went down with Logano in Atlanta.
Hamlin spoke about the incident on a new episode of Actions Detrimental on Monday.
Hamlin certainly wasn't buying NASCAR's explanation for his gloves being a safety issue, and viewed it more as NASCAR took issue with the glove being "considered an aerodynamic device."
So, what was the deal with Joey Logano's glove? 🖐️
📺 https://t.co/kaNfvuNLTs pic.twitter.com/zFtp5Eqlf3
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) February 26, 2024
"When you saw the news, it was not SFI approved," Hamlin said. "Folks, that's like 10% of the story. My guess is the glove was approved when you add webbing to in between the fingers. It probably needs to get re-approved because you've added material, and they need to retest it. But that is not why NASCAR probably had issue with this, because this is likely considered an aerodynamic device. So, you know, what's the difference in that and me putting something in my pocket and grabbing it and then holding it out there? You know what I mean? To deflect air. It's basically one in the same. So, while I get it, while that's what the rule stated that they broke an SFI safety rule, this is not a safety problem."
As for why Logano was caught, Hamlin implied that the Cup Series is "full of snitches."
"I'm willing to say there was a whistleblower," Hamlin said. "These teams tell on each other, for sure. For those of you who don't know, teams — they call it a self-policing sport because when we're sitting next to each other and watching videos of other cars — the NASCAR Cup Series is full of snitches. I mean, all over the place. They tattle tell. If they see something that someone is doing that is illegal or skirting the rule, they'll tell the tower right away. They'll send that to (Senior Vice President of Racing Innovation) John Probst or (Senior Vice President of Competition) Elton Sawyer and be like, 'Oh, look at that.' And they'll say, 'Oh, we'll look into that.'"
That's bold coming from Hamlin, who has "snitched" on others in the past.
