Alex Bowman fires back after Denny Hamlin waves to him during pass at Kansas

Make that two weeks in a row where Hamlin has paid the price for a previous action. Showered with boos during driver introductions ahead of last Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, Hamlin threw the Horns Down gesture at the crowd in attendance. That gesture proved to be costly, if you believe in karma. Hamlin’s engine blew up on Lap 75, prematurely ending his race.

“That didn’t last long for me. Eventually, the karma caught up pretty quickly,” Hamlin said on Monday’s Actions Detrimental podcast. “Their fans were the nicest fans in defeat that we have ever come across. They’re nice people.”

Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin running well at Kansas

Still, it’s been a quality day of racing for Hamlin. He’s currently running eighth, two spots behind Bowman. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has finished 27th or worse in three of his last four starts and desperately needs a good performance.

So far, so good for Bowman, who has led two laps at Kansas. But he and the rest of the field are chasing Kyle Larson, who started on the pole. Larson has led all but 15 laps and looks to be closing in on his third victory of the season.