“Could Be His Year”- Denny Hamlin Names Estranged Friend as Biggest Roadblock to His Championship Aspirations

The Pennzoil 400 race had a pretty smooth finish with only two contenders majorly dominating the leads. Tyler Reddick gave his all to take over as the leader of the pack. But Kyle Larson did not let him and emerged as the winner after a nail-biting struggle. And though things may have turned sour between Larson and Denny Hamlin, but the latter did not hesitate to salute him.

NASCAR flagged off 2024 at two superspeedways in back-to-back events. The Las Vegas race marked the first 1.5-mile track of the season. This kind of track is going to dominate the rest of the season. Larson may have already stamped himself as the king, as Hamlin points out.

Denny Hamlin hails Larson as the possible 2024 racing legend

The mile-and-a-half tracks constitute most of NASCAR’s race schedule. Some would argue that the Las Vegas race is the official start to the season. As an intermediate track, it can make or break a team. And it seems like Kyle Larson is playing that game well.

Denny Hamlin could agree no less. In a recent episode on ‘Actions Detrimental’, he emphasized Larson’s supremacy, saying, “Strong run right, I mean this could definitely be a Kyle Larson type of year. Anytime he starts off this early in the season getting wins, you’re looking at how many can he get, right.“

He also commended his 1.5-mile track power which will be hard to beat. “So he’s on it right now, especially on the mile and a half. The mile and a half, it seems he’s got a package, him and Cliff…it’s gonna be tough to beat. So we all gotta go to work on it.” 

Kyle Larson led 181 out of 267 laps at the Pennzoil race. But Denny Hamlin did not stop even there to appreciate his estranged friend. He called it a “dominant day” for Larson, whose pace was helped by Tyler Reddick’s pit troubles.

But why exactly are Larson and Hamlin not on talking terms? Let’s refresh our memory.

Pocono fumes yet to die down between Hamlin and Larson

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Kyle Larson was at his wit’s end when Denny Hamlin played a cruel strike against him at the Pocono race last year. After a late-race restart with seven laps left, Hamlin edged close to Larson, causing the latter to lose control and hit the outside wall.

Larson’s rage spilled over in a post-race interview. “Yes, this makes things sh***y and awkward, but whatever. He’s always right. All the buddies know Denny’s always right, so I’m sure he was in the right there as well. It is what it is. I’m not going to let it tarnish a friendship on track, but I am p*ssed, and I feel like I should be p*ssed. I’m sure… Tune in to [Denny Hamlin’s podcast] Actions Detrimental – he’ll have a long clip about it.”

But their friendship did get tainted after that. Hamlin requested a meeting with Larson at Richmond Raceway to discuss the Pocono fiasco. The latter flatly refused, saying a text conversation would suffice.

Denny is not wrong; Kyle Larson seems to be on the way to claiming 2024 as his own. With the next 1.5-mile track coming up at Texas Motor Speedway, we are pumped to see what spectacle he creates on the track.

Read More – Owner Denny Hamlin Blames 23XI for Jeopardizing Tyler Reddick’s Chance to End HMS’ Vegas Dominance