LAS VEGAS – A furious Denny Hamlin said he won’t pay the $25,000 fine leveled on him by NASCAR on Thursday after his criticism of the Gen-6 race car.

The fine also left many of his fellow drivers wondering what they can say about their new cars without incurring NASCAR’s wrath.

Hamlin couldn’t understand why he was at the center of NASCAR’s latest tempest over its drivers’ media comments. He compared the new race car unfavorably to last year’s car, along with lamenting the overall quality of racing last week in Phoenix.