According to Elton Sawyer, the race winner at Richmond “rolled early” at the last restart.

Had it been lap 200 instead of lap 405, would Denny Hamlin have been flagged for a restart infraction on Sunday night?

In an interview on Tuesday, Elton Sawyer, the vice president of competition for NASCAR, discussed that possibility. After getting a head start on the last restart of the race and pulling away from teammate Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin won the race on Sunday night at Richmond.

Replays seemed to support Truex’s claim that Hamlin jumped the restart after the race. The start of the restart zone was preceded by the acceleration of Hamlin’s vehicle. At some point within a restart zone, indicated by two green lights, the leader is expected to begin speeding toward the green flag.