“He Was Pushing Me Down” – Denny Hamlin Hammers Down on Roger Penske’s Playoff Hope After Texas Altercation

While William Byron of HMS presented his team with their 300th win, putting on a brilliant performance in Texas, another driver was looking for a major turnaround in his 300th race start the same day. After a dismal outing in Bristol with the reigning champion, Joey Logano knocked out, all hopes were on Team Penske‘s only playoff driver.

Unfortunately, his 300th Cup Series start did not go according to plan. Instead, it went terribly off the rails as a late tangle got the driver crashing out of the race. To add insult to injury, Joe Gibbs Racing driver and NASCAR’s new glorified villain, Denny Hamlin fired shots at the driver, doubling down on his “aggressive” performance.

Typical of his usual order, Hamlin did not mince his words in any manner. He detailed the lesser-known shoving contest in his podcast as the #12 driver paid its hefty dividends that eventually got a grin on the veteran’s face.

Karma bites back on the aggressor as Denny Hamlin reveals the lesser-known Texas altercation

The playoff’s 2nd round opener in Texas was indeed a blockbuster event. The race was a rollercoaster for fans, with a mix of emotions. While the race was a treat for HMS fans, it certainly wasn’t so for Ford supporters. With the only SHR car out of the championship contention and the reigning champion knocked out in the first eliminator, all eyes were on his teammate, Ryan Blaney, who looked to snatch his 2nd win of the season.

Ever since his landslide win in Charlotte, conquering NASCAR’s most grueling race, the Coca-Cola 600, Blaney hasn’t been in the limelight. The intermediate track in Texas gave the #12 driver a shot at redemption, to get back in the game and make his boss, Roger Penske, proud. Finishing top 10 in both the first stages of the race, Blaney was blazing hot. In fact, too hot that his aggressive pace got him a pit penalty from NASCAR.

Unfortunately for the driver, his aggression couldn’t get him a win. Instead, it got him in trouble as Hamlin exposed the lesser-known incident to the whole world in his podcast, Actions Detrimental. He said, “Blaney, he got caught up in a late race crash, he sped, no wonder he sped, he was pushing me down the pit lane like the stop where he got busted for speeding he was literally shoving me down pit lane.”

Amidst the overwhelming pressure to get a win and advance to the round of 8, Blaney’s overly frantic pace earned him a bad name and a hefty penalty. Though Hamlin did not resort to a tit-for-tat strategy, he brutally bashed Blaney in his podcast, saying, “He was pushing me, and it’s interesting I need to know where he sped because there was a section where probably section 3 or 4 on pit road where he was, I mean aggressive on my bumper and I was looking down my lights and I’m like nah, I’m good, I’m good where I’m at so, he got busted for speeding and so I had a little chuckle in the car.” 

WATCH THIS STORY: Samantha Busch expresses surprise at fans reaction to Denny Hamlin’s win over Kyle Busch 

Despite the #12 Ford driver trying his best, putting on a macho persona, Blaney got in a late crash that got him out of the race, whereas Hamlin stayed calm in the fray and finished 5th, earning valuable points.

Hamlin’s pit lane tussle with his teammate

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Before Blaney and Hamlin got into a tussle in the pit lane, Hamlin’s teammate shoved him. It looked like trouble found Hamlin even before he knew it was coming. Early in the race, on lap 77 to be precise, while exiting the pit stall for a quick pit stop, Hamlin’s teammate and his boss’s grandson Ty Gibbs bumped the #11 Toyota.

Gibbs did not see Hamlin exiting the stall, door slamming the #11 car as the two JGR cars crossed paths in the pit lane. While the brief contact caused significant damage to the right side of his car, Hamlin methodically ran the race to finish in the top 5, earning 42 points. Whereas the rookie ended his in a crash.

READ MORE: Roger Penske’s Superstar Adds Another Feather to His Cap Amidst HMS’ Milestone Achievement