Denny Hamlin: 'I Won't Pay Fine' Criticizing NASCAR's New Car Rather Appeal $25,000 Fine

Denny Hamlin was fined $25,000 by NASCAR on Thursday for criticizing its new Gen-6 car last week at Phoenix. The furious driver stated he refuses to pay the fine.

Hamlin after placing third gave "disparaging remarks" about the new race car unfavorably to last year's. He said, "I don't want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our generation five cars. This is more like what the generation five was at the beginning."

This upset the NASCAR officials that although the brief remark itself was barely noticed, they leveled a significant fine against him.

"Ultimately, I'm not okay with it," Hamlin said of the punishment at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "This is the most upset and angry I've been in a really, really long time about anything ... anything that relates to NASCAR. The truth is what the truth is. I don't believe in this. I'm never going to believe in it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not going to pay the fine. If they suspend me, they suspend me. I don't care at this point."

Hamlin also indicated on Twitter that he would appeal the fine.

"The short of the long of it is I believe I was severely disrespected by NASCAR by getting fined. I believe that the simple fact of us not even having a conversation about this issue before I was hit with a fine has something to say about our relationship. What I said was 1 sentence taken completely out of context. Most drivers will tell you that we constantly have our AND nascars best interest in mind when speaking.

"On the other hand I am a person that worked very hard from the BOTTOM to get where I am today and someone telling me that I can give my 100 percent honest opinion really bothers me. Since being fined in 2010 I have been a lot more careful about what I say to media and I felt this past weekend felt completely in my rights to give a assessment of the question asked. I feel as if today NASCAR lost one of its biggest supporters vocally of where our sport is headed.

"So in the end there are no winners. I said today I would not pay the fine. I stand by that and will go through the process of appealing. Trust me, this is not about the money.. It's much deeper. I will now shift my focus on giving FedEx and my team what they deserve this weekend, a win."

Based on NASCAR rules, any unpaid fines may be deducted from a driver's purse or point fund earnings.

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said Hamlin is allowed to appeal his fine and the process will be same as the one that teams go through for technical violations.