Good Friends Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson Have a Real Rivalry, Insists Kyle Petty

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson may have one of the best rivalries in NASCAR today, says veteran TV analyst Kyle Petty.

On this week’s episode of “Fast Talk” on the Performance Racing Network, Petty acknowledged the rivalry between the two.

But Petty also admitted that after Hamlin had held off Larson in all of their first six 1-2 finishes in the Cup Series, Larson finally got the better of Hamlin for the first time this past Sunday in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“I find that fascinating,” Petty said. “This is the first time Kyle Larson has won (over Hamlin in a 1-2 finish). We try to manufacture rivalries sometimes. Richard Petty and David Pearson finished first and second 62 times, and Pearson won most of them.”

Let’s break down how Hamlin and Larson have fared when they finished 1-2:

By the Numbers: Denny Hamlin vs. Kyle Larson Head-to-Head Record

Hamlin and Larson have finished 1-2 in seven Cup Series races. Even though Larson got the better end at Bristol, Hamlin was on the winning side the first six times: 

Richmond (Sept. 10, 2016)

New Hampshire (July 16, 2017)

Darlington (Sept. 5, 2021)

Kansas (May 7, 2023)

Bristol (Sept. 16, 2023)

Dover (April 28, 2024)

Bristol (April 14, 2025)

Larson, Hamlin Prove You Can Be Competitors But Also Friends

What’s especially interesting about the Hamlin-Larson rivalry is that even though their organizations – Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports – are ultra-competitive against each other, the two drivers are good friends off the racetrack.

And both admit they race each other clean, something neither driver can say about all of their other NASCAR Cup rivals.

“But 62 times creates a rivalry,” Petty reiterated about the rivalry between his legendary father and Pearson. “Seven, eight, 10 times, you begin to have a little bit of a rivalry.

“And it has nothing to do with punching people in the face or wrecking people on the racetrack. It is a pure rivalry on the racetrack when you finish first and second.”

The elder Petty and Pearson rivalry also impacted their families, much like the modern-day rivalry between Larson and Hamlin. In fact, Larson may have his wife, Katelyn Sweet, to thank for some extra motivation and inspiration at Bristol.

“I thought Denny would win the race prior to practice,” Sweet told Shannon Spake on NASCAR Daily. “I said, ‘Denny is really good under pressure and I think that actually kind of pissed him [Larson] off.’

“So, maybe I lit a little fire under there. He was like, ‘No, he’s not going to win the race.’”

And indeed, Hamlin did not win. It was Larson’s second straight win at Bristol and third in the last six races on the .533-mile high-banked bullring.

That Larson and Denny Hamlin can race each other close but clean is an illustration of their relationship. While Hamlin has had run-ins with a number of drivers during his career, he and Larson have been fairly gentlemanly with each other on virtually every lap.

“Just feeling like you can trust, maybe trust the moves that somebody’s gonna make on you, and I feel like that’s when you have close racing and trust what they’re going to do,” Larson said. “I think that’s fun to me.”

The possibility of a feud between the two drivers arose briefly early last year, but Larson quickly struck down any bad blood during an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“Going forward, I’m ready to move on,” Larson said. “Zero issues at this point. I would just like a little bit of respect on the racetrack. A little bit more room than maybe I’ve been given.

“And yeah, if we can do that, we can go back to racing fair and challenging each other fairly for wins.”