Denny Hamlin had nothing but respect for Kyle Larson and his performance during Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental, Hamlin heaped some praise on the Hendrick Motorsports star for his thrilling victory, where he utilized some fresher tires to his advantage, as well as watching as Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill ruined the afternoon for each other.
“It was really fun to see,” Hamlin said, regarding Larson’s performance. “I saw Kyle when he came back to the bus. He had just got back from doing his media. And he was like, ‘Yeah, we were lucky.’ I’m like, he was, but there was a lot of skill in that win.
“Like, watching the patience he had, knowing that those two were likely going to get into each other. I mean, beyond that he had to get to third place in the first place. And I felt he just did a masterful job getting through the pack.”
While Hamlin relented that Larson was gifted a caution to help him make up some ground, he wasn’t taking anything away from the former NASCAR Cup Series champion’s performance on Saturday.
“Now, I do remember he had one really timely caution, where he gained a bunch of spots. You know, like nine, or something like that,” Hamlin added. “The caution came that allowed him to start I think eighth on the final restart, they’re about. And, man he just, you know — new tires or not, it’s still difficult to pass. And he just, once he got to third, I almost went to X, right when they were coming off turn four, coming to the white and said, ‘Larson wins.’ Because I just, you just felt it, right? That, ‘Okay, you’ve got to bullheads in Shane and Austin,’ and you know, they’re gonna get — Larson is at least going to be in the picture of this thing, when it’s all said and done.
“But that move through the stadium course where, you know, he saw — you know, Shane and Austin, you know, pushing each other. Him just taking a big, wide swooping arc into that corner. Beating them both off. It was just a masterclass, for sure.”
While Kyle Larson wasn’t able to recapture that magic on Sunday during the Cup Series’ race at COTA, he can still hang his head high leaving Austin. Both Larson and Denny Hamlin are locked into the playoffs regardless, so everything from here on out is just the cherry on top for the No. 5 and the No. 11.
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