Denny Hamlin Sternly Dismisses Frenemy Kyle Larson’s Superspeedway Curse

Everybody is busy recovering from the hype surrounding the Atlanta Motor Speedway race. While Daniel Suarez and other drivers are relishing the thrilling experience, racers involved in crashes are still sore from their failures. Among the wrecks, lap 220 witnessed a bumpy fallout between three drivers, including Kyle Larson. Denny Hamlin broached his cursed fate on his podcast recently.

Larson’s bright dreams came crashing down when Brad Keselowski snapped loose. The No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang spun around and collected both Larson’s and Corey Lajoie’s cars. Kyle Larson was an early race leader, exchanging the lead with Kyle Busch for a while. But Keselowski’s wreck extended his drab drought of accidents on superspeedways.

Hamlin believes Kyle Larson is unlucky, but maybe not that much

The Atlanta race is the talk of the town right now. Not just for the fabulous picture-perfect finish, but also due to the massive wrecks that unfolded on the superspeedway. Denny Hamlin himself got caught in some of them, and sorely remembered his troubles. But he also drew the spotlight on Kyle Larson’s cruel fate.

Read More: Days After Controversial Last-Lap Upset, Kyle Larson Gets Frustrated Over Denny Hamlin’s Hypocrisy & Confesses a Major Regret

On a recent episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin talked about how superspeedways may be Larson’s arch-enemy. “Listen, if there’s anyone that should hate superspeedways, it is Kyle Larson. I don’t know what his crash rate is, I certainly closed the gap on that day with him, but man he has had a rough go finishing lines.”

Hamlin’s point is backed by Larson’s uncanny string of failures in Atlanta. Ever since the Atlanta Motor Speedway evolved from a traditional superspeedway to a reconfigured track, Larson’s fortunes looked down. His No. 5 Chevrolet crashed without a hiccup in all six races held on the revamped 1.5-mile facility.

Hamlin also put forward Larson’s typical jumpy nature that gets him into trouble. “He runs upfront, but he just, he makes bold moves and he gets into a lot of crashes, you know most not even his doing. He’s just got bad luck in it. You can’t always say it’s all bad luck, right. Sometimes you just keep putting yourself in a position that it’s bound to happen sooner or later.”

The 2021 Cup Series champion is looking forward though. The Las Vegas race begins next weekend, with the Hendrick Motorsports team having three Pennzoil 400 wins. Kyle Larson took home the checkered flag in the October 2023 race in Sin City. And Denny Hamlin himself had come up against Kyle Larson in 2023.

Denny Hamlin had sealed Larson’s fate in Kansas

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In May 2023 at Kansas Speedway, things turned sour between Hamlin and Larson. In a race that featured 37 lead changes, Denny Hamlin turned aggressive on the last lap. Kyle Larson was hot in pursuit of the trophy, but Hamlin shattered his dreams. The latter bumped Larson out of the way and seized glory for himself.

However, the 23-time Cup race winner has a lot to look forward to in 2024. Larson has his focus on being the first driver since Kurt Busch in 2014 to attempt the ‘Memorial Day Weekend Double’. The task involves competing in the Indy 500 and 600-mile Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day. Tony Stewart performed this endurance test best, finishing sixth at Indianapolis and third at Charlotte.

Both veteran drivers, Hamlin and Larson, were involved in crashes in Atlanta. Let’s see what chaos the upcoming races bring for us.