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via Imago

via Imago

In his illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career, Denny Hamlin has made some great friends. On the other hand, his list of rivals isn’t short either. One of his most well-known nemeses is Joey Logano. The rivalry between the two has been intense and carries some bitter feelings from the past. However, recently, Hamlin took the defending champion’s example to make a better case to make a good case in his Phoenix Raceway penalty appeal.

The 42-year-old and Logano have been at each other’s throats more often than not. The rivalry is almost a decade old now yet Hamlin hasn’t forgotten the wounds of the past.

Denny Hamlin publicly shames Joey Logano in his bid to win the $50,000 penalty appeal

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After publicly accepting that he wrecked Ross Chastain intentionally at Phoenix Raceway last month, Hamlin was fined $50,000 and NASCAR deducted 25 Cup Series points. Though he appealed NASCAR’s judgment, despite his best efforts, the National Motorsports Appeal Panel retained the penalty.

Hamlin was guilty of violating Section 4.4.B of the NASCAR rulebook. The rule punishes any attempt to manipulate the outcome of the race or the championship. In the recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, he enlightened more on how the appeal went. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver explained how he offered the panel multiple examples of manipulation and admission of wrecking prior to his case.

He said, “I see what that’s interesting because I have an interview from Joey Logano on his championship tour this off-season. They talk about the wreck in which he retaliated against me at California that broke my back and injured me for a couple of months.”

Hamlin continued, “He’s [Logano’s] like that’s just basically the way I am with me if you race me aggressively or whatever. Basically, he said with me, that I [Hamlin] didn’t show remorse, boasted about it and so hey I [Logano] got him back and so I don’t really take anything back.”

It is worth noting that the incident Hamlin is referring to was at the Auto Club Speedway race in 2013. The clash saw the 23XI Racing co-owner suffer an L1 compression fracture in his lower back.

READ MORE: Unforeseen Bombshell From NASCAR Following Divisive Hendrick Motorsports–Kaulig Racing Verdict Triggers Protest From Denny Hamlin – “You Can’t Do This”

However, the point he was trying to make to the panel was that drivers do this kind of stuff regularly. And that NASCAR has run in the same fashion in the past 75 years yet Hamlin’s the one being penalized. While the Florida-born driver makes a valid point here, it is of no use. However, it is interesting how Logano wasn’t the only one who was called out publicly by the 3x Daytona 500 winner in this context.

Hamlin takes a massive dig at Hendrick Motorsports star to win his penalty appeal

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It seems Hamlin was on a roll in the latest podcast and also during his appeal hearing. He not only used Joey Logano’s name to explain the wrecking nature of NASCAR but also called out a Hendrick Motorsports driver in the context of manipulating a race.

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The HMS racer talked about here is Chase Elliott. Hamlin discussed the 2021 incident at Bristol when Elliott allegedly blocked Kevin Harvick. This in turn helped his teammate Kyle Larson win the race and eventually the championship.

Speaking on the incident, the JGR driver said, “I don’t mean to upset anyone here who might be a fan, but I’m sorry Chase Elliott coming back onto the racetrack at Bristol, multiple laps down, asking where the #5 car is so he can ‘help him out’ is race manipulation. He [Elliott] blocked the #4 car [Harvick] to allow his teammate to win.”

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WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin Discloses the Deep-rooted Motive Behind His Unique Initiative That Earned Him $50,000 Confrontation With “Confusing” NASCAR

Clearly, Hamlin used every trick of the trade to win the appeal. Unfortunately, it didn’t go his way but he sure made some interesting points there. What do you make of them? Let us know in the comments below.