Back in 2021, there was a brewing feud between Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman. At the Martinsville Speedway, there was a clash between them, and Hamlin was understandably furious. So when the Joe Gibbs Racing driver went to interrupt Bowman’s victory celebrations, there was an incredible fallout.
Recently, Bowman spoke about the immediate aftermath of the incident.
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He said, “It was a really awkward interview.”
“I’ve got Marty Snider trying to imply I did it on purpose halfway. And I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t do it on purpose at all’.”
“Then I’m standing there, because everything is on the front straightaway, and all of a sudden, everybody is booing. I’m like, ‘What is going on? They’re all mad at me’.”
“Then I look (up at the video board) and (Hamlin) is talking. I’m like, ‘Why are they mad at him?! I crashed him’. So that was really weird and then I felt horrible. I was pretty mad at myself for the whole situation.”
Denny Hamlin made Alex Bowman change his mind soon afterwards
Unfortunately, Hamlin suddenly wiped out any sympathy that Bowman had for him. This was when he infamously called the #48 driver a ‘hack’ on live television. Obviously, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was unamused and then decided to subsequently get some passive-aggressive revenge.
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Speaking about Hamlin’s interview, Bowman said, “Then I watched his interview, and I didn’t feel nearly as terrible anymore. With how far he went with things (calling Bowman a “hack”).”
“And I tried to make a positive out of a negative with a shirt there and all that. But it was crazy.”
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Now, it seems that all has been relegated to water under the bridge between the two drivers. Hopefully, such a situation will not happen again this year. The last thing that Bowman and Hamlin need is a collision and a feud getting in between their championship aspirations.