Denny Hamlin Pushes the Blame on Notorious Brad Keselowski as He Acquits His Driver From Foul Play

At the start of the race in Darlington, Kevin Harvick mentioned that it might not be wise for drivers to stick to the upper lane. And that’s exactly what Tyler Reddick did not do when he crashed with Chris Buescher. On his podcast, while discussing the incidents involving Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, and Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin expanded on this point. Although Reddick fully accepted responsibility for jeopardizing his and Buescher’s race, 23XI Racing’s co-owner seems to think that Brad Keselowski actually played a key role in triggering the crash.

During Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Tyler Reddick was in control, leading for 174 laps until a late-race clash with Chris Buescher derailed both their chances. Brad Keselowski managed to slip by during the commotion, grabbing the win and breaking his 110-race drought. Denny Hamlin, however, suggested that Keselowski may have set off the chain of events. 

It seemed initially that Chris Buescher was giving Keselowski a push from behind—a standard practice to help clear and overtake other cars. But this time, the tactic backfired, putting them in a tough aerodynamic spot that slowed them down. Following this, Keselowski’s contact with Tyler Reddick might have spurred #45 to amp up. When asked if the contact opened up things for Keselowski on Actions Detrimental, Hamlin remarked, 

“I think [the contact between Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski] certainly put him on tilt. I think that it definitely played a factor in his give-a-damn being busted. Yeah! More than likely!” While Denny Hamlin did acknowledge that Tyler Reddick made a bold move by getting too close to Chris Buescher, leading to their crash, he suggested that Brad Keselowski’s push might have triggered that aggressive move. Hamlin also surmised what could’ve been Reddick’s mindset while sliding up the inside.

“I think he went in there legitimately thinking he was going to slide up in front of [Buescher]. And I think he realized halfway through the corner, ‘I am scr*wed, and I’m not going to make it.” After the 23XI Racing co-owner said this, he explained how Reddick may have made the move too soon. But also not. “These cars are tough in traffic, and it’s really hard to pass someone.” After seeing the #17 start to slide a little, Hamlin added, “If I’m in Reddick’s shoes, I’m thinking, ‘This is the closest I’m going to get to him.’” Interestingly, the #45, in fact, said the same thing after the race.

The crash happened with just 10 laps to go. That was when Tyler Reddick felt Chris Buescher was starting to get “dialed in,” so he knew he had to make a move. After the race, feeling guilty about causing the collision and ruining not just his but the #17’s race as well, the 23XI driver tried justifying his actions. “When I was looking at it at the time, the options I thought I had as a table, I thought that was going to be the last opportunity for me to make that move.”

Despite how apologetic Reddick was, Chris Buescher wasn’t ready to pay heed to his rival. “Saying sorry doesn’t fix it,” he told FOX Sports. At the end of the day, though, he had to settle for 30th place. As Hamlin reflected on the whole race and justified his team’s driver’s actions, he couldn’t help but bring up a similar incident from his experience where he pushed the envelope too far.

Denny Hamlin reflected on a similar bold move he made in the Xfinity Series

For the #11 JGR driver, edging the leading car towards the fence to leverage aerodynamic pressure is a familiar tactic—it usually sends the top car into the fence while he scoots by. However, there was a time when Hamlin pushed it too far, much like what happened with Tyler Reddick. Hamlin believes Reddick was attempting something similar.

He recounted, “I tried this during an Xfinity race and went way too far. It was with me and Ross way back in the day and they showed a lot of that this weekend. I went to try to slide them. But, dummy me, I went way too deep. I could have slowed way down. I ended up going so deep I hit the wall. And then he ran into me. I could have slowed my entry up a little more, but it was because I was beside him – I already had a distance advantage when I started to do the slide. So I think trying to do it when you’re not beside them was really low percentage and obviously did not work out and ended both our days.”

While Brad Keselowski’s nudge might have spurred Tyler Reddick to race more aggressively, it ultimately helped Keselowski snap his 3-year winless streak, earning his 36th career victory and his second at Darlington.