“Running 2nd to Me at Richmond”: Denny Hamlin Reveals Perfect Birthday Surprise for Kyle Larson Hours After HMS Superstar’s Warning

After an intense and controversial climax, Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin picked up his second win of the season. Despite the veteran racking up his 50th career win and earning JGR their 600th win, the crowd in the stands unapologetically booed Hamlin for his late tussle with HMS star Kyle Larson, displaying their disapproval vividly.

Soon after the action-packed race, all hell broke loose as Kyle Larson called out Hamlin’s unnecessary act, deeming it as “intentional.” While the NASCAR nation was busy speculating the recent happenings, race winner, Denny Hamlin yet again poked fun at Larson, naming the perfect birthday gift for the #5 driver.

Denny Hamlin pours salt into Larson’s wounds, revealing the perfect birthday present for his friend

Heading into last Sunday at The Tricky Triangle, the HMS sensation was probably eyeing another win to add to his resume, but Larson’s hopes were quickly squashed by his own friend, Denny Hamlin, who got the #5 Chevy spiraling down from the top 5 to finish the race 20th.

Despite coming close to winning Stage 1, Larson got a dream start, finishing the first stage second to Joey Logano and eventually acing the caution-riddled Stage 2 of the race. But as the closing laps of the stage neared, the scene grew even darker for the #5 driver as a late tangle with Hamlin sealed the deal for him.

While Larson capitalized on the restart, taking the lead, Hamlin pulled off a near-identical move that got the community back a year to Pocono when he bumped off Ross Chastain. Going into Turn 1 in lap 155, the #11 Toyota pulled left close to the leading Chevy, running it wide off the track and into the wall, essentially ruining Larson’s day. While Hamlin is in a state of denial right now, Larson spoke his mind about the incident and he did so bluntly, calling out the veteran’s hypocrisy.

Though Larson showed his displeasure, nudging the #11 car to the wall during the late caution, Hamlin insisted that he was clean, even taking a subtle jab, mocking Larson. Speaking on his Action Detrimental podcast, the 42-year-old revealed the perfect birthday gift as soon as his co-host mentioned Larson’s birthday to be next Monday.

Hamlin said, “I still wanna hold hands with him,” to which Allen chimed in saying that won’t be a good idea. The veteran then went on to unveil his birthday surprise for Larson, saying, “You know what would be a good birthday present, running second to me at Richmond.”

READ MORE: “Crying About It and Not Doing Nothing” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Impressed by the New Denny Hamlin

While the veteran is on top of the world with the win, besting the 2.5-mile for a whopping 7th time, furious with Hamlin’s act, Larson hinted at payback in his post-race interview.

Yung Money hints at payback as he mentions unfinished business with Hamlin

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Often seen calm and reserved, the last race at Pocono seems to have ticked off something in Kyle Larson’s head. Getting his win snatched away certainly isn’t something one should be proud of and it certainly isn’t a flex when your close friend snatched it from you.

Feeling an emotional connection? Now that’s nowhere near the disappointment and frustration, the HMS driver had to endure. While he did show his distaste, ramming the #11 Toyota to the wall during the caution, the 2021 title holder shared his thoughts to Sirius XM NASCAR’s Claire B Lang post the race.

WATCH THIS STORY: 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin favors Trackhouse Racing driver over his own driver Bubba Wallace 

“Yeah, I’m sure I have a lot to say. But now I’m just proud of my team. They did a really good job today to get ourselves in position to win after the spin. So, just happy about that and ready to move on and look forward to Grandview Speedway on Tuesday in Sprint Car and Richmond on Sunday,” while the disappointment was evident in his words.

Larson hinted something that the community never anticipated from the calm driver, a payback! Upon further questioning, Larson said, “Just ran me out of room…He won. I didn’t pay him back…Under yellow? No, I mean he still won, so I didn’t pay him back.”

Though the HMS driver has stated that he doesn’t want the incident to tarnish their friendship, it looks like Larson won’t be playing along from now on. Will this be another feud? A friend-turned-foe tale? This week’s race will definitely have the answer to all these doubts.