Denny Hamlin is opening up about what happened between he and Kyle Larson during Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway. A late-race scuffle caused a lot of controversy, and allowed Hamlin to take home the checkered flag.
Late in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, Hamlin pushed Larson up the track, causing the No. 5 car to make contact with the wall. It was a move Larson didn’t appreciate, saying he was “pi--ed” about the situation following the end.
In his latest Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin explained what happened.
“I went into Turn 1 and, the key moment for me was getting clear of the 19 right before we get into Turn 1. So, I shot low, and the next thing I know — I go in there pretty deep — and the 5 goes in there and he just goes straight. And I’m like, ‘Oh s---.’ In that moment, I think I got a shot.
“It’s really, really tough because, this happens in the matter of half a second or one second, right? It’s super quick. So, I see him going up the racetrack and losing all his momentum, I just gas it. …
“So, I gas up, I get to the middle lane as quick as I can thinking I’m gonna clear him. Once I realize I’m not gonna clear him, I’m like, ‘Ah, s---.’ And, when that happened, I started lifting. I’m coming up, he’s holding his line and — I still contest we did not touch. … If it was contact, I certainly didn’t feel it.”
Because of how Sunday’s race ended, Hamlin was showered with boos by the fans at Pocono Raceway. It wasn’t exactly the best way to celebrate a 50th career win.
But would Hamlin change anything about the race?
“I didn’t love it, because it’s Kyle Larson and he’s a good friend of mine,” Hamlin said. “But also, I wouldn’t change anything. I really wouldn’t because I think about the opportunity for me to get 50, 600 for Toyota, break the record at the track. There’s just a lot of factors that go into it.”
So, basically, Hamlin doesn’t have any regrets about how Sunday’s race ended. And, we don’t blame him. He took home the checkered flag and hit a career milestone. Not a bad weekend at Pocono.
Sunday’s victory at Pocono marked Hamlin’s second of the season. He currently sits at third in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings with five regular season events remaining.
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