It’s the same exact song, but the second verse for Denny Hamlin at Pocono Raceway.
Using an aggressive move, Hamlin made the pass on Kyle Larson on a late-race restart which allowed him to control the remaining seven laps of Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 at the 2.5-mile facility.
That move, which saw the Joe Gibbs Racing driver force Larson up the track and into the outside wall, is the same exact maneuver Hamlin made on Ross Chastain in the closing laps at Pocono in 2022.
However, when utilized the first time, Chastain bounced off the wall and into the pack, damaging his car and several others significantly. This time, Larson was able to continue, and immediately show his displeasure to Hamlin.
On the frontstretch, Larson, who was now being scored in fourth place, drove up to the race-leader Hamlin under caution – displayed for a crash by Justin Haley – and door-slammed the 42-year-old, showing his anger with the situation.
The damage sustained to the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro would be enough to dropkick Larson to a finish of 20th, after leading 24 laps.
What are your thoughts on the Denny Hamlin & Kyle Larson incident? pic.twitter.com/LPrSv24OhN
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 23, 2023
After the fact, while not overly harsh, Larson had some interesting words about the situation that unfolded late in the race on Sunday, which can only in itself be described as being “pissed”.
