“I’ve Been on the Sh*t End” – Denny Hamlin Plays the Victim as NASCAR Community Is Furious Following Kyle Larson Altercation

The HighPoint.com 400 race at Pocono saw a few records being made. Denny Hamlin took the #11 Toyota to his 7th win at Pocono, his 50th overall career win in NASCAR Cup Series, and Toyota’s 600th win in NASCAR. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Denny Hamlin. With only 7 laps remaining of the 160-lap race, Hamlin found himself in a shootout for victory with Kyle Larson, who was P2 at the time.

Although Hamlin came out on top after the tussle, the fans did not approve of the move he made on Larson. Hamlin was received in the victory lane with ‘booing’ from the fans. Later, during the post-race conference, Hamlin opened up on the incident, reminding the community that he has been on the receiving end of such racing incidents many a time in the past.

Denny Hamlin dismisses Kyle Larson’s claim of having ran into him many times in the past

Kyle Larson, who was running in P2 during the closing stages of the race, ended up finishing in P20 after Hamlin apparently ran him into the wall. Speaking to Frontstretch, the Hendrick Motorsports driver said, “Just…uh…unfortunate. I feel like we’ve had a handful of run-ins. I’ve never had to reach out to apologize. He’s always been the one that’s reached out to me and been like, hey man, sorry, I messed up there a little bit or put you in a bad spot.”

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver quickly dismissed the claim and went on to describe how he has been at the receiving end of such incidents in the past.

“Denny, you were talking about the relationship between you and Kyle. You’ve had run-ins in the past. Does it affect anything?” asked Zach Sturniolo from Nascar.com.

“We really haven’t. You’re kind of blowing that up,” said Hamlin. “That’s not true. We’ve not had run-ins. I got in the back of him at Atlanta trying to push him. We’re drafting. That was a draft gone bad.”

“Then once again we’re racing for the win at Kansas. And he gets in the fence, comes off the fence, and I tag him in the left rear.”

He continued, “I mean, I get it. I know where you guys are trying to go with this, but I’ve been on the sh*t end of so many of these results. I am definitely, when it comes to getting 50 for me and 600 for Toyota, I’m going to make sure that I drive as hard as I possibly can, and respectful. That’s why I left him more than a lane off of turn two.“

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As Denny Hamlin gave the specifics of the incident, he explained that the two drivers [Larson and Alex Bowman] made their own choice to not ease up on the gas when they needed to.

“I didn’t overshoot the corner” – Hamlin insists on having given plenty of racing room to Larson and Bowman

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Hamlin dismissed Larson’s claim of never apologizing to him for anything he did on the track. He revealed what had actually transpired in the past between the two drivers as he clarified the racing incident between them.

Hamlin was asked, “Larson was not happy, said that of all the times he’s never had to apologize to you, you’ve had to apologize to him. Why wasn’t your move dirty? How do you view it?”

“That’s not true,” Hamlin said. “He has ran me off a bunch of road courses and called me and said sorry. I said I am going to stand my ground next time. I am not here to defend anything. Put those guys, the 48 [Bowman] and 5 [Larson], in an aero situation. Didn’t touch either one. How can you wreck someone you don’t touch?”

He continued, “They make a decision to either let off the gas and race side by side or hit the gas and hit the wall. I mean, I put’em to those decisions. I didn’t overshoot the corner.”

READ MORE: “This Confidence In Me That I Could Do It” – Kyle Larson Reveals What It Took To Get Out Of The Pressures Of The Cup Series When He Joined

Despite the fans’ disapproval. Hamlin was happy not only to get his 50th Cup win, but he was also happy to deliver the 600th win for Toyota. What were your thoughts on the race as it unfolded at Pocono? Let us know in the comments.