Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson’s rivalry reached a boil during last weekend’s Cup Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway. Hamlin this season time and again has gotten the better of the HMS star with the use of questionable racing tactics. Interestingly, all bets were off last Sunday as Larson got rid of the good boy tag and gave Hamlin a taste of his own medicine.

If you know Denny Hamlin, he is not one of those drivers to let this sort of treatment slide. Especially, if it’s coming from someone like Larson. The incident happened just before the end of the Stage 2 run in Nashville, where the No. 5 purposefully raced the #11 up the racetrack. And, next thing you know, the JGR driver completely lost his cool. So much so that he had to be brought to his senses by his crew chief, Chris Gabehart, via the team radio.

Gahebart had to restrain Hamlin after his altercation with Larson

While Hamlin and Larson are good friends off the race track, the script is totally different when it comes to racing. Going by the events that have transpired so far this season, neither of the two drivers is going to back down. However, Chris Gabehart wasn’t too keen to see his driver trade blows with the HMS ace, knowing that they had an opportunity to win the race.

As soon as Christopher Bell won Stage 2, Denny Hamlin, in a bid to get back at Larson, put his bumper in the back of the #5 HMS Chevy. He even bumped into him a couple of times. Thus, he sent a clear message that he wasn’t going to tolerate the treatment he was receiving. The conflict escalated to the point that Gabehart had to intervene and talk some sense to his driver, who was looking for payback.

“We’re good enough to win the race. Don’t worry about that. We’re good. Hey, Hey Hey, Hey! We’re good; stop. We’re good enough to win this race. That’s what we’re going to do. Stop! We’re going to win the race. Going to worry about the rest of the grab-a**ing later,” Gabehart was quoted saying via NASCAR’s radio active segment shared online on X by FOX.

For the time being, tempers have cooled down. And going by Larson’s recent statement, he feels that he needed to vent out his frustration at Nashville. As if trying to send a message to Hamlin about how he’s felt about being on the bitter end of the stick multiple times. But he is ready to move on if Hamlin keeps his hands clean while racing him.

Larson is ready to move on and focus on racing clean and fair

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This reaction by the HMS star was clearly something he was forced to come up with. It was unlike what Larson fans are accustomed to seeing on the racetrack. However, NASCAR is a competitive sport, and he made it clear that he wouldn’t fold and continue to take the beating every time. This was evident from his reaction in Nashville.

But what becomes of this rivalry? As far as Larson is concerned, he is ready to move on from the heated altercation if Hamlin can keep his hands to himself. “I would like a little bit of respect on the racetrack and a little bit more room than I’ve been given … I’m ready to move on and go back to having fun racing each other,” Kyle Larson said via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

However, the same cannot be said about Denny Hamlin, who clearly doesn’t mind getting up close and personal with his rivals on track. “If (Larson) is b*tt hurt over a lap that happened at the end. Ok, he wouldn’t give me an inch to clear. This is now three instances in a row. Now I feel like, OK, I need to respond. I’m in this for the long haul. I’m fine with the way we’re racing and it’s going to keep going. It’s going to keep getting raised,” he said via his podcast show.

Well, it looks like fans might finally have a genuine rivalry to devour this season. And given that two are already locked in the playoffs, it makes for an entertaining watch to see the two drivers locking horns every weekend.