NASCAR President Steve O'Donnell has dismissed what he calls an 'absurd' question regarding Denny Hamlin and the Cup Series championship race.
Hamlin is one of four drivers who will race for Cup Series glory on Sunday at Phoenix, with only Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and William Byron standing between him and his first-ever championship.
However, all of this comes amid Hamlin being embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with NASCAR as co-owner of 23XI Racing, the team that sued the stock car racing series last October, along with Front Row Motorsports, alleging anticompetitive and monopolistic practices.
Just this week, NASCAR's countersuit against the teams was dismissed in court, and the wider lawsuit trial is set to be heard on December 1.
O'Donnell slams Hamlin question
Of course, if Hamlin is to win on Sunday, he will need a clean race throughout. However, ahead of the action, NASCAR's president was quizzed on the Joe Gibbs Racing driver potentially being penalized during the race, and whether or not he was worried this might be seen as controversial, given the ongoing legal proceedings.
"No," O'Donnell replied adamantly. "Because we have the technology
O'Donnell continued, backing the NASCAR officials: "We have an unbelievable officiating team.
"I think that question actually is a bit absurd.
"I'm pretty confident in the decisions we'll make and the transparency we've had throughout the year."
You can see how it all unfolds when Sunday's championship race at Phoenix kicks off at 3pm ET (NBC).
