Tommy Baldwin suggests Denny Hamlin running Ryan Blaney into fence was calculated move

Tommy Baldwin believes Denny Hamlin knew exactly what he was doing when he ran Ryan Blaney into the fence at Martinsville. On the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Baldwin shared his thoughts on the incident that happened late in the race.

“Not good,” Baldwin said. “I just feel that Blaney, methodically the whole race, just saved his stuff, got to second there before that caution come out, and then was in position. And the 11 (Hamlin) knew it. He knows he’s going to have to race the 12 (Blaney), not thinking the 9 (Chase Elliott) is going to take off and leave at that point.

“He’s like, ‘Okay, now I got Blaney on the outside. This is the guy I’m probably racing for the win.’ He ran him right in the fence.”

Denny Hamlin was looking to win his second race of the season before his incident with Ryan Blaney. After the race, Blaney shared his thoughts on Hamlin running him into the fence.

“Yeah, just put me in the fence, I guess,” he said, per Toby Christie of Sports Illustrated. “That’s what it looked like from my seat, and if that’s what it looked like from TV, then that’s what happened.”

Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney weigh in on the Martinsville wreck

Blaney, who earned a P6 finish at Martinsville, added, “I mean, from my seat, I feel like it’s unnecessary,” Blaney lamented. “I don’t feel like I kind of got pinched; I feel like I just got driven into the fence. But I think everyone is going to have different opinions on it.”

Hamlin, who finished second, shared what happened at Martinsville on the Actions Detrimental podcast. He admitted that Blaney “got the sh*t end of that one,” and he talked to him after the race.

“With Blaney, I thought I could get clear of him,” Hamlin explained. “I probably was up too high on the racetrack. Probably midpoint of [Turns] 3 and 4, and at that point, I think he was right on the right rear corner of my car. I feel us connect, and once we connected, I just drove him right into the fence.”

Hamlin and Blaney are in position to make a run at the NASCAR Cup Series championship later this year. In the current NASCAR Chase standings/Cup points Blaney is in second place, and Hamlin is in third.