Usually, a 50th victory is celebrated among fans in the world of NASCAR. Instead, Denny Hamlin was showered with boos following Sunday’s victory in the HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway.
Hamlin took home the checkered flag under caution Sunday, marking his 50th career victory on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. But not many were celebrating the remarkable accomplishment.
Instead, Hamlin was greeted with jeers from the crowd, many frustrated with Hamlin’s antics on the track. Late in the race, the No. 11 car pushed Kyle Larson up the track in a corner, forcing him into a wall.
When Hamlin crossed the finish line first, the boos were audible on the broadcast:
The boos didn’t stop raining down after the checkered flag waved. Many stuck around to let Hamlin hear their displeasure.
In another clip, the boos sound even louder as Hamlin gets out of his car. And if the fans heard how he answered some of the post-race questions, they might’ve upped the volume even more.
Hamlin was asked if Larson had a right to be upset about the move late in the race. The No. 11 driver essentially took no blame for his actions on the track.
“Well, both guys wrecked themselves,” Hamlin said. “There was a lane — he missed the corner, first. And, evidently, he didn’t have his right-side tires clean and when he gassed up, he just kept going again.
“You have an option in those positions to either hold it wide open and hit the fence or lift and race it out.”
It should make for an interesting podcast topic on Actions Detrimental this week.
Kyle Larson ‘pi--ed’ at Denny Hamlin
Regardless of what Hamlin claims happened on the track, Larson wasn’t too happy with how Sunday’s race at Pocono ended. Following the conclusion, he didn’t hold back on his thoughts about the No. 11 driver.
“Yeah, we’re friends. Yes, this makes things s----y and awkward, but, whatever. He’s always right,” Larson said. “All the buddies know, Denny’s always right. So, I’m sure he was in the right there, as well. But, it is what it is. I’m not gonna let it tarnish a friendship on the track, but I am pi--ed.
“I feel like I should be pi--ed.”
Larson was then asked if he needs to start racing Hamlin differently on the track moving forward. He had a pretty interesting answer.
“I think, at this point, I have to, right?” he said. “Like I said, I’ve never had to apologize to him about anything I’ve done on the racetrack. I can count four or five times where he’s had to reach out to me. … So, eventually, like he says, you gotta start racing people a certain way to get the respect back.”
Larson and Hamlin might still be friends but the two probably won’t say anything to each other for a few days.
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