6-30-10 —     Denny Hamlin stood by his previous statement that NASCAR officials

sometimes use caution flags for debris just to liven up a race or close up

the competition.

    Hamlin was leading last week at Michigan when NASCAR threw a caution for

debris with 15 laps remaining.

    Hamlin went on to win the race, but said afterward that NASCAR threw the

caution flag because ³this is show business.²

    ³There is always debris around the track,² Hamlin said Friday at

Infineon Raceway. ³You can call anything debris. You could say that anything

is debris and that it is a legitimate safety hazard, but I just think it¹s

the timing. ŒOK, there it is, let¹s pick it up and regroup.¹



    ³For the sake of show, that¹s OK, but for the sake of competition, it¹s

not always the right thing. But, if we weren¹t talking about that last week,

if NASCAR had let it go, people were going to be talking about a boring

race, and that¹s something we don¹t want, either.²

    Hamlin said he expected a caution flag when he had a big lead last week.

    NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston refuted Hamlin¹s claims, saying NASCAR

throws a caution flag for debris when there is a safety hazard.

    ³When we identify something, or there is something on the track that

can¹t be identified, we are going to err on the side of safety and throw the

caution,² Poston said. ³Cautions exist for the safety of the competitors and

our fans and we take that very seriously.

    ³At some point, I suspect drivers would have a different point of view

if they were to hit that piece of debris, particularly leading the race and

it ruined their day, or worse. Our job is to maintain as best as we can the

safety on the track.²

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