Denny Hamlin Takes a Shot at Kyle Larson as the HMS Driver Brings Up Petty Issues After Coming Up Short

After the Wurth 400 Race, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch expressed their displeasure in their respective post-race interviews at Dover, blaming their loss primarily on the aero blocking associated with the next-gen cars. Larson ended up second at Dover, for Kyle Busch, it was his second career Dover pole. After the race, the latter emphasized how previous models at least allowed some room to maneuver for passes, a flexibility that seems absent in the next-gen cars.

The HMS driver elaborated on the same and pointed out that aero blocking is particularly significant at the front of the pack. He noted that drivers leading the race could easily use their in-car cameras to keep tabs on challengers behind them and block effectively. #5 also suggested that removing these cameras could potentially alleviate the problem. However, Denny Hamlin, the winner at Dover, who once again “beat your favorite driver” doesn’t see eye to eye with this viewpoint.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson are at loggerheads with each other 

With the idea that NASCAR should ditch the rear-view cameras to make air-blocking tougher, Kyle Larson repeatedly described how “easy” it is to block using these cameras, explaining, “It’s really hard to pass the lead car. […] Honestly, if they took the cameras out of the car, that’s probably one of the little things that could fix it. It’s hard to see out of the rearview mirrors, but the cameras are so easy. I would be for it if they took the cameras out. I don’t know if he ;[Hamlin] runs the camera, he probably does and it’s really easy.” Denny Hamlin, however, offered a different assessment.

In his post-race comments, the winner of the World’s fastest one-mile oval mentioned he rarely used the camera during the race, noting, “Yeah, I mean, I use it at times. I didn’t use it much today simply because Dover is just a track where things happen so fast. I feel like personally if I take my eyes off the road for a second, I take it to the camera, I’ll miss my line kind of rely more on the spotter to defend than I do the actual camera just simply because I don’t think I’m good enough to drive and look backward.”

Denny Hamlin was evidently not buying the camera removal idea as a fix for aero blocking. He flat-out said, “No, it wouldn’t change anything because the spotters would tell you where to drive.” Hamlin even said that he would rather see changes to the car, tires, or something more substantial. According to him, the current cars just can’t stand being in traffic or trailing another car, which is why they perform best on wider tracks where the following driver has room to maneuver, and it’s all a strategic game.

Hamlin got ahead of Larson when a crash coming off Turn 2 forced a caution with 72 laps remaining in the race. He retained the lead on the final restart with 62 laps to go and then held on against a charging Larson to win his third race of the season. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin doubled down on his view of why removing the cameras won’t work.

He said, “I saw Kyle Larson I think said, ‘Well, if they took the camera away.’ For me, I looked at my camera a few times during the race, but not very often unless I was just checking my gap on a restart. So, that’s certainly not gonna fix it.” Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was another driver who was critical of aero blocking.

The RCR driver was first held up by Noah Gragson while racing the No. 10 for position and then by his former teammate Martin Truex Jr., who held him off for the third position.

Speaking after the race, Busch said, “The aero blocking is just so bad,” Busch said. “It’s so bad and everybody knows it and uses it as a defense item. We lost a straightaway to (Truex). That’s what frustrated me the most is, he was slower.” On the other hand, Hamlin’s view found support in the form of his crew chief Chris Gabehart.

Gabehart explained, “So we just left Talladega and we saw the direction that racing has gone in. Twenty years ago we went through a phase at Talladega where we were drafting with Tandon, and way back when we had six first-lap finishing cars spread around the entire track. So the sport is evolving, as any sport would, and aeroblocking is no different.”

But away from these camera and aero-blocking discussions, there’s something worth celebrating for Denny Hamlin. With his latest win at Dover, Denny Hamlin has now matched a legendary driver in the record books.

Hamlin feels humbled after matching racing legend Lee Petty in the record books

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Hamlin, who’s always got something interesting to say on his podcast, pretty much predicted he would bag Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. And sure enough, he delivered, edging out Kyle Larson by just .256 seconds and leading the impressive 72 laps.

But the interesting part is that Dover’s victory marks his third of the season and the 54th of his career, putting him on par with Lee Petty for 12th on NASCAR’s all-time win list. This win was also redemption for him after he finished 5th last time in Dover.

“I’m proud of this FedEx team for bringing me a car capable of winning today, but sometimes you can’t get those last few spots. It is what it is. We will work hard and try to get better,” said the JGR driver after finishing behind Truex Jr, Chastain, Blaney, and Byron in 2023.

And reflecting on his milestone this time, Hamlin humbly said, “It’s just fantastic; I mean, I couldn’t hold Lee Petty’s helmet, but I’ve been blessed with a great race team. This whole FedEx team, Sports Clips, and everyone that supports this 11-car. They are the ones that make it happen. I’m the lucky one who gets to drive it.”

With three wins under his belt this season, Hamlin’s showing some serious strength. But we all know his pattern: he shines in the regular season, then fades somewhere in the middle during the playoffs. Will he be able to keep up the momentum this year to clinch his first Cup championship? Also, whose side you are on in the aero-blocking debate?