Denny Hamlin has found himself surrounded by controversy yet again after he claimed to have intentionally wrecked his long-time nemesis Ross Chastain during the last lap of the race in Phoenix. This incident cost both drivers at the speedway, with them crossing the line in the 23rd and 24th spots, respectively. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s admission about wrecking Ross Chastain on purpose as retaliation to their altercations last season shocked the NASCAR fraternity and prompted the sanctioning body to act on the matter. NASCAR handed the 42-year-old a 25-point deduction and a $50k fine. Many experts and critics, including Fox Sports racing analyst Larry McReynolds, shared their take on the matter.
Some fans did not agree with the decision and also lost their cool following McReynolds’ criticism of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. A few of them expressed their displeasure following his comments. What did ‘Larry Mac’ say that prompted a section of the fans to react in that way?
Larry McReynolds did not go easy on Denny Hamlin
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In the recent iteration of the NASCAR Race Hub, Larry McReynolds clarified that he had the utmost respect for Denny Hamlin and felt that the NASCAR veteran deserved to be a Hall of Famer. At the same time, he also showed his complete support for the racing body’s decision.
The racing analyst said, “But honestly, I think the penalty fits the crime.”
“Because he put NASCAR in a box. Elton Sawyer said it, you know. They were probably raising an eyebrow over what went down there on turns 3 and 4 on that last lap anyhow. But, when he goes on his podcast and goes, ‘Absolutely! I did it.’ I think he put them in a corner. And they had no choice.”
The 64-year-old was relieved that the Hamlin-Chastain fiasco came to a stop as he felt that the feud had gone on for far too long. He also criticized Hamlin for the incident, as he believed being a team owner, Denny understood the cost of doing business and the value of cars.
McReynolds also suggested that the Joe Gibbs Racing team would also be quite disappointed by Hamlin’s decision, which made ‘no sense at all’ to him.
The analyst added, “I know he said on his podcast when he saw Chastain does outside, he starting seeing red. Well, if I’m Chris Gabehart his crew chief, I’m seeing red.”
Fans get mad over McReynolds’ take
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Fans were not too impressed by Larry McReynolds‘ take on Denny Hamlin‘s recent tussle with NASCAR, leaving them infuriated. While one fan wanted the analyst to be put out to pasture, another commented, “Bunch of idiots that want vanilla drivers!”
Bunch of idiots that want vanilla drivers!
— Phillip Sterling (@PSterling9512) March 15, 2023
Larry needs to be put out to pasture along with the majority of the fox nascar circus.
— Clifton Roberts (@texasred3815) March 15, 2023
A few users elected to focus on the example NASCAR was setting. An unimpressed fan expressed his wish to see penalties for putting guys into walls handed out on every single occurrence in the future.
@LarryMac28 If we're really going to be penalizing guys for putting each other into the wall, then we better see these penalties every time from here on out on this.
Or I guess make sure the drivers lie when it happens.
A great example the sport is setting, as always.— Brendan Sanders (@BASReport2018) March 16, 2023
One user touched upon the absence of similar penalties from “intent wrecks” at The Clash on Feb 5 and wondered whether penalties would only be given to drivers who were honest about it.
@LarryMac28 so where are all the penalties from the intent wrecks from the Clash? We had five of them.
The sport really needs the drivers to openly state that they wrecked the guy on purpose to penalize them? A weak penalty from a weak governing body.
— Brendan Sanders (@BASReport2018) March 16, 2023
All last season these assholes pushed the Denny vs Ross storyline and hyped it up every time they were close saying “is this where Denny gets him back?” Now all the sudden they’re flabbergasted that Denny actually did something 😂 https://t.co/2yDfupoaVE
— Zach Sullivan (@BiggelsTV) March 15, 2023
Meanwhile, some Twitter users were keen to see the racing and their retweets strongly hinted at the same.
So much for “boys have at it”
— Jon Iaccino (@ji711) March 15, 2023
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Please. Let em race. You need the hate. Hate is good. You just spent 3 minutes on it and it gave you content. Good damn grief now.
— Todd Hutchens (@toddhutchens) March 15, 2023
Thus, some fans disagreed with Larry McReynolds and the NASCAR penalty and they clearly let it be known with their heated reactions.
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What do you think about Denny Hamlin getting reprimanded by NASCAR? Let us know in the comments below!
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