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Denny Hamlin Was Stunned By NASCAR Driver's Wreck Explanation

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 3:10 PM ET

Denny Hamlin isn't buying Carson Hocevar's account of Sunday's incident at Nashville Superspeedway.

For the first time this season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. couldn't finish a Cup Series race. His day ended early when he got bumped by Hocevar, spinning out the No. 47 car into a barrier. On the other hand, Hocevar finished second to Ryan Blaney.

After the race, Hocevar told reporters that Stenhouse "probably could have cleared me." The 22-year-old felt they each could have cut the other a break on the corner entry, but Stenhouse called his peer's driving "definitely overaggressive."

Hamlin appeared to side with Stenhouse when he responded to Hocevar's comments.

"I didn't quite understand Carson's reasoning for saying that he thought maybe Ricky could have given him a break because of the run he had," Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast (h/t On3). "That's an interesting take."

Hamlin said Stenhouse took "a normal arc into the corner" when Stenhouse bumped him. The 44-year-old didn't see how Stenhouse could have prevented the collision.

"Ricky would've had no opportunity, even if he wanted to give the No. 77 the bottom lane, which you don't want to do," Hamlin continued. "Nobody's giving anyone anything. He didn't give Ricky's spotter a chance, nothing. Because he just dove it in there and said, 'I think there might be a hole.' Nope, there wasn't."

Meanwhile, Hamlin thinks Hocevar should be on high alert moving forward. The 23XI Racing owner called it "inevitable" that Stenhouse retaliates on the track.

"Ricky Stenhouse will absolutely wreck Carson Hocevar sometime in the near future. That's just a fact," Hamlin claimed. "I would put this week's salary on it. I'm not kidding you."

Hamlin, who felt Hocevar missed a chance to take accountability for wrecking Stenhouse, also warned the Spire Motorsports driver that he'd seek retribution if Hocevar causes him any problems.

"Carson hasn't done anything to me yet that's been egregious, but I guarantee you I will get him if he does," Hamlin declared. "I'm gonna get him because he has gotten a lot of people, and they haven't done anything about it."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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