Denny Hamlin on Open Exemption Provisional: 'It Reeks of Desperation'
Ahead of Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at Bowman Gray Stadium, Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin met with the media for a weekly media availability in the Media Center at Bowman Gray.
Hamlin touched on many topics within the session, but a poignant moment in the availability was his honest opinion about NASCAR's new 'Open Exemption Provisional' (OEP), which was introduced in the offseason. Needless to say, the 44-year-old racer isn't a fan of the new provisional.
"I mean, I don't know. I just think it [reeks] of desperation," Hamlin stated. "I don't know how else to say it. I don't know how nice you can really say it. It just feels like you're really trying to get any kind of headline you can to be relevant. I just don't love it."
For those unfamiliar with the OEP, if more than 40 cars show up for a NASCAR Cup Series event, a team fielding an entry for a world-class race driver (NASCAR's discretion) can apply for the new provisional 90, or more, days prior to the event. If granted the OEP, the driver and team are guaranteed a starting spot in the field regardless of if they fail to qualify the traditional way.
If the team uses the OEP, the field expands to 41 entries, and the team that utilizes the provisional will not be eligible to earn driver points, owner points, or receive any earnings from the race purse. While Hamlin agrees the OEP could lead to a minor bump in television ratings for a particular race as fans would know a world-class driver would be assured to compete against NASCAR's top drivers, he feels drivers should have to earn their way into races by paying their dues.
"I think, to me, it's a short-term gain, long-term loss. I just think you're the premier Stock Car series in the U.S., and the premier racing sport in the U.S., be the big boys and force people to come in here and get their credentials and do it the natural way," Hamlin explained.
While the OEP is an interesting new rule change for the 2025 season, it's already not a hypothetical situation as to whether it will be utilized. Four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, who will compete in the 2025 Daytona 500 for Trackhouse Racing as the driver of the No. 91 Chevrolet, was granted the provisional for the season-opening Daytona 500. Castroneves will now start the race regardless of what transpires in the lead-up to The Great American Race.
Hamlin admits that the Daytona 500, which has been the only race in the Next Gen car era that has had car counts exceeding 40 cars, will likely be the only event that will be potentially impacted by the OEP, he still is not a fan of what the OEP represents.
"I don't think it's going to be a big factor, really, anywhere other than Daytona, but just simply put, saying that someone has a name that interests you, and that they're going to have an automatic bid into the highest form of motorsports in the U.S., I don't love it," Hamlin said.
Hamlin won't have to worry about locking his way into the 2025 Daytona 500 field as the three-time Daytona 500 winner drives one of the 36 Chartered entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, which are guaranteed entry into every NASCAR Cup Series event.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.