Kyle Larson survived a spin earlier in the HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway to be up front late. Larson held strong on older tires and stayed in front after some late restarts.
However, with seven laps to go, Denny Hamlin pushed his friend Larson up front. Hamlin took his momentum to get underneath Larson and sent him toward the wall coming out of Turn 1. Larson hit the wall and reacted by forcing Hamlin down to the apron on the Long Pond Straight. A caution came out right after, and Larson hit Hamlin on the frontstretch to show he didn’t like what happened.
Denny Hamlin forces Kyle Larson to the wall and as caution comes out for Justin Haley, Larson showed his displeasure at Hamlin on the frontstretch. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/w39Iud2SR6
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) July 23, 2023
Larson continued and finished third, but his car was damaged enough that he couldn’t get back to Hamlin. As Hamlin celebrated and was showered with boos from the crowd, he explained in his winner’s interview that both Larson and Alex Bowman, who spun in front of Hamlin just a few laps before, “wrecked themselves.”
"Both guys wrecked themselves."
Do you agree with @DennyHamlin? #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Z9m8c7tYj6
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 23, 2023
Larson had a different interpretation of what happened. Larson felt Hamlin wrecked him, and while his friendship with Hamlin won’t change, he felt he deserved to be mad about it and thinks he has to race Hamlin differently. Larson pointed out that Hamlin did the same thing to Ross Chastain at last year’s Pocono race.
"I am pissed."@KyleLarsonRacin on Denny Hamlin. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/vWrXN3GasI
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 23, 2023
What Hamlin did is something that top racers sometimes do. Hamlin technically didn’t wreck Larson, as he left Larson a lane, but Hamlin put Larson in a position where he either had to stay in the gas and hit the wall or let off the gas and let Hamlin by. It’s the final few laps, and if Larson lets off the gas, he loses.
Plenty of racers, past and present, did and do things like that to great success. Ayrton Senna did that in Formula 1. While it sometimes led to him being crashed as well, it also helped him become a three-time World Champion.
Larson did something similar earlier this season. At the Bristol Dirt Race, Larson pinched Ryan Preece toward the wall. Larson didn’t wreck Preece either, but he gave Preece the option to either back off and give Larson the position or stay in the gas and hit the wall. Preece chose to hit the wall and then put Larson in the wall later in the race. Hamlin even criticized Larson for pulling that move on Preece on his Actions Detrimental podcast back in April.
When it comes to Hamlin and Larson, there are various levels to both of them being in the wrong here. Larson got screwed, but he’s done something similar before. And while it’s okay to be mad about this because it was probably a win taken away, Larson doesn’t exactly have a clean record.
For Hamlin, he may not have turned Larson, but both his wins this season came as a result of Larson crashing from the lead. The Kansas race was much more of a racing incident, and an argument could be made that the Pocono win was a racing incident, but when it happens twice in three months, even racing incidents can be seen as something more than that if it happens often enough.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see where this goes in the immediate future.
