“Great job by the whole Joe Gibbs team to give us some fast cars.” Denny Hamlin’s acknowledgment of the team covered his massive disappointment. The #11 did everything right after qualifying 10th at the Shriner’s Children 500 and used Goodyear’s tires optimally. But when push came to shove, Christopher Bell did a better job.

Just after Christopher Bell crossed the finish line 0.049 seconds ahead of him, Denny Hamlin roared on the radio: “GOD DAMMIT! F—!!!” 

This was understandable, as he was a hair’s breadth away from claiming the victory for himself. What is more, Bell fought tooth and nail to get his way after two cautions on laps 268 and 295 shuffled everyone’s race strategy. The final caution caused by Ty Gibbs kicked off a side-by-side battle where Bell never let Hamlin get away, even acting aggressively at times.

But looking back at the race a day later, Denny Hamlin brushed off his heartbreak. “I was just in a horrible leverage spot – he took advantage,” he claimed in a recent ‘Actions Detrimental’ episode. His co-host, Jared Allen wanted to delve deeper into how clean Christopher Bell was and Hamlin confessed he has been no different. During the 2023 Pocono race, Denny Hamlin forced Kyle Larson up the track as they fought for the lead in the closing laps. According to Hamlin, Bell executed similar actions in Phoenix last weekend.

Recalling his past moves, Denny Hamlin let Bell off the hook for his aggression: “Yeah, I think I’ve had that choice in the past, right? I ran Larson up the track. It wasn’t the last corner…I think it was probably a little more acceptable on a short track. I don’t know, I mean if I would have it my way which I can’t – you know, everyone’s out there to win for themselves.” 

Denny Hamlin further reflected on the dramatic two-lap battle, and how it all worked out for his teammate. “Do I wish we would have raced in the corner side-by-side and see who could get the best run-off? Absolutely. But I don’t think he was going to win that way. I think that his best opportunity at the moment – being that I had the outside – was to try to slow my momentum by getting me up the racetrack. And it worked perfectly.”

Looking back at the final corner, the #11 was just slightly ahead going into Turn 3. For a moment, it looked like Hamlin could have won, but Bell’s inside line and pushing Hamlin up the track proved to be the winning move. However, Bell had his mind set on one thing. Don’t take Hamlin out of the race. “It’s pretty interesting, the culture at JGR really is just… I mean, I guess it’s a dog-eat-dog world. We race each other so hard, and I’ve felt wronged by teammates in the past, and I’ve talked to Adam (Stevens, crew chief of the #20) about it and he’s like, ‘It’s just the way it is. It is, you know, race each other as hard as you can but be fair and make sure one of them wins. I told myself, ‘I said no matter what happens, I have to make sure that if I don’t win, Denny wins.” 

The real winner here is Coach Gibbs, and not because of the race win. You see, Joe Gibbs was afraid there was a rivalry brewing within the team. How can he forget the Busch v.s. Hamlin duel from the All-Star Race 15 years ago. Speaking about it, Gibbs felt nervous. He said, “Nervous’ isn’t probably a good word for it. I was ready to upchuck. One of the things I always worry about when we get two of our cars up there, because that can make for an intense meeting tomorrow at 2:00. I can tell you that. Hey, they raced it out. It looked like nobody took unfair advantage. Just appreciate that. I think for the last two weeks in a row, we’ve had great finishes to races with people having a chance to show their skill and yet get it done the right way.” 

Contrary to their hot and cold relationship in the past, Denny Hamlin harbored a fuzzy bond with Kyle Larson. Both lauded the other’s moves on the racetrack.

Rivals saluting each other

Well, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson‘s rivalry is iconic in NASCAR. It started in March 2022 when contact from Hamlin turned Larson’s car in Atlanta. Things heated up in 2023, when Hamlin dumped Larson to charge to victory twice in Kansas and in Pocono. Yet standing in 2025, both drivers appear to have resolved their past conflicts. That was visible in the post-race comments in Phoenix. When Hamlin was battling his teammate, Larson was waiting for his opportunity. But he was content with the third-place finish: “I thought being patient to try and keep them side by side down the back was good…Yeah, just kind of gave ourselves a shot for them to maybe get into each other and us squeak by. Good to finish third.”

According to Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson actually helped him keep his momentum with Christopher Bell. This helping hand came during Ty Gibbs’ caution flag: “We got a good restart. (Kyle Larson) really gave me a great push on the frontstretch on the restart, down the backstretch. I had kind of position on (Bell). I knew he was going to ship it in there. He had to use me. He could. Obviously we just kind of ran out of racetrack there. Great finish. Great job by the whole Joe Gibbs team to give us some fast cars.”

Evidently, all rivals are choosing to make peace over whatever went down at Phoenix. As we head to Las Vegas next week, let us see what action is in store for us.