When NASCAR first publicly announced the ‘Open Exemption Provisional’ rule earlier in the month, Denny Hamlin more or less made clear what he felt. On Saturday afternoon, in his first press conference of the season ahead of the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, he expounded on that with a tune you would expect from the tweet.

Denny Hamlin shares his perspective on the new OEP rule designed to facilitate international drivers' entry into NASCAR competition.

Denny Hamlin said Saturday that NASCAR’s new Open Exemption Provisional “reeks of desperation” when asked how he felt about the sanctioning body granting a world-class driver from another