Denny Hamlin: Kyle Larson wasn’t as dominant at Kansas as it seems

Kyle Larson won another race over the weekend. Fans who tuned in watched the wheelman of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports become the class of the field once again on his way to Victory Lane.

While you’ve got to give Larson his credit, Denny Hamlin believes there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to his performance at Kansas Speedway. The veteran Toyota driver explained why Larson was really good on Sunday, but he wasn’t quite as dominant as the statistics made it seem.

“Every contender that was even close (to Larson at Kansas) stepped on their d***. I don’t know what else to say about it. It’s not his fault that we all can’t execute,” Hamlin proclaimed, via Actions Detrimental. “I think that, even when he lost the lead, he became pedestrian, just like he was at Texas. I caution this — I think he’s less dominant than what he’s been in the years past.

“I think he’s fast, but I think he can be had. That’s in the sense of — he’s doing a really good job at qualifying well, executing, not making mistakes, and not putting himself in the middle of the pack. When he gets in the middle of the pack, I haven’t seen the speed that I’ve seen in them have before. I just — I don’t know. Even with no clutch, I was confident that I could get them. … But, I mean, you got to give them their due, right?

“They’re doing everything right. They’re fast. I don’t think there’s anyone faster in the field. But I just don’t — I think the stats are showing a more dominant race than what it actually was, if that makes any sense at all. It probably doesn’t. … I know there’s an outcry of like, you know, he’s stinking up shows and things like that, but it’s not his fault. That’s not his fault. It’s not his fault. I don’t think we should fault them for that.

“You’ve got to give them their due for executing like they’re supposed to and nobody else is doing it. So that’s, you know — he’s winning them in a very dominant fashion, statistics-wise. But, you know, who knows, right? Maybe he’s got more lap-time left in the bank, and if someone goes up there and actually challenges them, he’ll step on the pedal and embarrass all of us. We don’t know because it’s just — it’s not happening quite yet.”

While Hamlin makes some great points, Larson did have a pretty memorable weekend at Kansas. The Hendrick Motorsports wheelman started on pole, won Stage 1, won Stage 2, led 221 laps, had the fastest lap and of course, won the race. Those 221 laps out front set a NASCAR record for most laps led in a Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, as well.

All told, it’s not Kyle Larson’s fault the rest of the field couldn’t get out of their own way. We’ll see if Denny Hamlin has anything for the Hendrick Motorsports star going forward, as the All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 are on the docket.