Dale Earnhardt Jr. Has Absolutely No Problem With Kyle Larson Doing Exactly What Denny Hamlin Did

One of the biggest highlights from Pocono last weekend was the incident between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. There have been enough arguments from both sides over whether Hamlin was at fault for the controversial overtake that gave him the win and ruined Larson’s race weekend. Quite naturally, one of NASCAR’s most important voices, Dale Earnhardt Jr. also chimed in.

Speaking on the matter recently, Dale Jr. shared his perspective on what would have happened if it was Larson diving down the inside for the lead instead of Hamlin. Would the Hendrick driver have done the same thing? Junior certainly thinks so.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Kyle Larson would have done the same as Denny Hamlin

Junior’s co-host Mike Davis asked him if he thinks that Larson would have done the same thing to Denny if the roles were reversed. Junior replied, “I think so, I really do and I don’t really have a problem with it.”

“There’s something TJ used to say on the radio. When you get in the position that Denny was in. TJ’s line would be to take what you need and honestly, that’s the mentality of the driver in that moment. The spotter, the crew chief all the crew guys standing on the wall or huddled behind the pit box looking at that TV screen waiting to see the decision the driver makes. They all want that driver to take what he needs, what he wants.”

Junior explains what he would want as an owner in this situation

Junior also explained how the perception of the situation differed from which standpoint one was looking at this, adding, “If I owned the race car either one of those drivers. I’d want them to do what they needed to do. What they had to do to win, right? I think your opinion on what you saw and what happened depends on what side you are on and what role you play right.”

He then asked to sit in the shoes of the crew chiefs and the other crew members of that certain driver and then look at their perspective on the situation. Of course, what happened between Hamlin and Larson would make a compelling argument for both sides. However, at the end of the day, both of them are right about what they understood from their standpoint.