Kansas, it was a landmark win for Denny Hamlin, his first of the season, 49th of his career which equaled with him Tony Stewart in the all-time wins list, along with it being Joe Gibbs Racing’s 400th win. By all accounts, it should’ve been a perfect day for the veteran.
But it wasn’t.
Because the way in which this win and all those landmarks came was a bit questionable to say the least. Hamlin, who ran upto for most of the race, found himself fighting for the win with Kyle Larson who was in the lead.
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With two to go, it was Larson who was still ahead, white flag waved, Hamlin closed the gap, now almost bumper to bumper, side drafting, and as the #5 entered the last few turns, he got loose, and loose enough to hit the wall slightly which led to the #11 making contact with him and getting the lead.
DENNY HAMLIN WINS AT KANSAS AFTER AN EPIC BATTLE WITH KYLE LARSON! pic.twitter.com/2wfK5BnhVm
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 7, 2023
Now, this was something, what Hamlin did, which some agreed with, but many disagreed with in the fanbase, as was clear from the reactions on a tweet by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Fans call out Hamlin after Dale Earnhardt Jr’s cheeky reaction after Kansas
After Hamlin won the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr put out a two-word reaction which would sound, not just incredibly familiar to the #11 driver, but also quite relatable for the wrong reasons.
“Actions Detrimental,” Junior tweeted, which led to a lot of fans demanding Hamlin’s actions turn detrimental for him.
Eventually these actions will end his career.
— Joshua (The Bowtie) Boston (@JoshuapBoston1) May 7, 2023
@dennyhamlin can’t hate on Ross when you are wrecking somebody on the straightaway to win because you couldn’t pass them clean. One thing in a turn but cornering somebody on a straightaway lol
— Justin Mathis (@Jmat1919) May 7, 2023
He needed content for his podcast
— Real Deal Aneil (@realdealAneil) May 7, 2023
Kyle owes him one when the playoffs come around.
— Chris J541 (@ChrisJameson541) May 7, 2023
The crowd wasn’t very happy with him either. Lots of boo’s.
— KJ (@akhkjp) May 7, 2023
Watch This Story: Tony Stewart’s Bombshell Announcement Puts Him in Hot Water, Requiring Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Help to Diffuse
Denny Hamlin reacts to nudging Larson who admits the #11 had him “out of control”
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In a post-race interview, Denny Hamlin admitted he had “position” on Larson as he was trying to side draft him to make the all-important pass. “I got position on him there, was trying to side-draft him but clipped his left rear,” Hamlin said as per NASCAR.
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“Glad he was able to at least finish.”
As for Larson, he admitted he hasn’t “seen a replay” of the incident but he had a few things clear in his head nevertheless.
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“Obviously, he was side-drafting really aggressively, like he would. He was touching me, it felt like, and it had me really out of control,” Larson added.