Kyle Larson shared his thoughts on the Nashville incident. The Hendrick Motorsports driver not only killed Ross Chastain’s chances for his first win of the season, but also fueled a potential feud with Denny Hamlin.
The No. 5 Chevrolet driver leads the Cup Series standings with three wins, followed closely by the No. 11 Toyota driver in third place. The two have been among the front-runners this season and have been locked in fierce battles for the lead. However, some of them have ended in accidents, sparking speculation of a clash between the HMS driver and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. The incident happened at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin were battling side-by-side for second place. Just over 90 laps before the checkered flag fell, the JGR driver overtook the HMS driver after heavy contact.
The latest incident occurred during the first overtime restart at Music City, when Kyle Larson pushed Denny Hamlin into turn one, taking Ross Chastain out of the race. This happened after Larson was taunted by a spotter during a race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for racing the JGR driver too hard. That’s when the No. 5 Chevrolet driver fired back at Tyler Monn. However, his performance at Nashville led Kevin Harvick to call the HMS driver’s maneuver “out of character.”
When speaking about his rivalry with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson revealed that it was “over” but asked for “respect on the track.”
“Nashville was really the first time I had to show that I had overcome it mentally. Or in terms of the way I drove. Now I’m ready to move on. I’m totally fine at this point. I’d like to be given a little more respect on the racetrack and a little more freedom than I’m given,” Larson said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on x.
“Then I think we can have fair racing again and challenge each other fairly for wins. I think we are the top two teams in the sport at the moment so I look forward to fighting together for many more wins in races and beyond,” the HMS driver added.
Denny Hamlin changed his perception about a rivalry with Kyle Larson post-Nashville incident
In the New Hampshire incident, Kyle Larson was the victim of an accident and was heavily criticized by witnesses. As a championship contender, Monn expected retribution from the driver, but it didn’t happen. As a result, he mocked Larson for not being able to fight back when the situation called for it. After watching the tough race, Denny Hamlin’s co-host on his podcast asked about a budding rivalry between the two. But the Florida native downplayed the idea. “It’s not a rivalry. It’s two guys battling for the win. It’s not that. I like Kyle,” Hamlin told Dirty Mo Media on.X.
But after a frustrating stretch at Nashville Superspeedway in which Larson pushed Hamlin out in front of the track, the JGR driver was annoyed but asked by his crew chief to stay put. Still, thoughts of a possible feud were revealed by the 54x Cup race winner’s recent podcast confession: “I’m in it for the long haul. I’m happy with the way the racing is going and it’s going to continue and the price is going to keep going up,” Hamlin said. “Sure, if you want to call it that,” he said, not ruling out a rivalry between him and Larson.
The next race between Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin will be at the Chicago Street Races, where the two will battle for the lead in the Cup Series.
