While the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA delivered thrilling entertainment and high drama in the final laps, Denny Hamlin faced criticism for allegedly compromising Kyle Busch’s race to favor his teammate, Christopher Bell. However, Hamlin used his podcast to refute the claims, addressing the incident where he supposedly collided with Austin Dillon five laps from the end to aid the #24 driver.
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During the 78th lap, as Dillon and Hamlin were contending for the 20th spot, the #11 driver’s car unexpectedly locked up, leading to a collision with the side of Dillon’s #3 car.
The sudden bump sent Dillon skidding into the gravel and prompted a caution. Television footage showed a plume of dust trailing the Joe Gibbs Racing car just before it apparently lost braking ability, resulting in the accident.
The ensuing caution allowed Bell to opt for fresher tires, which proved crucial as he overtook Busch with five laps to go. Without this interruption, the worn tires on the #20 car might have hindered its pace. Consequently, fans openly accused Hamlin of orchestrating the wreck on purpose.
Nevertheless, Hamlin countered the conspiracy theory on his Actions Detrimental podcast, stating, “I am a competitive person… There is nobody that I hate seeing when more than my teammate because I know they’re driving the same thing that I’m driving…”
“I know what every Driver. Oh I’m so happy for my teammate winning.’ Like I mean, I love Christopher, he’s a great dude. But I don’t want him to beat me… That’s not a good look for me,” he added.
Despite Hamlin’s denial, the video evidence indicated the collision might not have been entirely accidental. If not helping the #24 driver, it could be possible that the JGR driver was simply settling scores with Dillon for last year’s incident at Richmond, where Dillon pushed Hamlin into the wall, jeopardizing his race in an ultimately vain attempt to bag a playoff spot.
Dillon showers his anger on NASCAR after the incident with Hamlin
The RCR team did not have a great day at COTA in the third race of the Cup season. On one hand, Kyle Busch could only manage to secure a P5 place finish despite leading the highest number of laps [43 laps]. On the other side, his teammate’s race was marred by an altercation with Hamlin, leaving Dillon visibly agitated.
Dillon’s frustration was not only visible during the post-race interviews but also spilled over onto social media. In response to a NASCAR post that described the incident with the caption, “The Nos. 3 and 11 make contact and the yellow flag flies,” Dillon could not hold back his exasperation and corrected sharply, “Correction. The No. 11 made contact with the No. 3.”
The incident seems to have ignited a new rivalry on the tracks. It will certainly be intriguing to see how this tension between the #11 and the #3 unfolds as the two drivers continue to compete against each other throughout the season.
![The RCR team had a challenging day during the third race of the Cup season. Although Kyle Busch crossed the finish line in 5th place and had been a frontrunner, having led for 43 laps, the disappointing 35th-place finish of Austin Dillon only compounded the team's frustrating results. While Busch maintained his composure, Dillon was visibly upset with the on-track incident involving Denny Hamlin. During the race at Circuit of the Americas, on lap 78, Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin were vying for the P20 position when Hamlin, after locking his #11 Toyota's tires, unexpectedly collided with the driver's side of Dillon's #3 car, hurtling it into the gravel and triggering a caution. Television replays captured a trail of dust from the Joe Gibbs Racing car just moments before it seemingly lost braking power and instigated the crash. However, the situation escalated when NASCAR shared the video of the incident with the caption, "The Nos. 3 and 11 make contact and the yellow flag flies." Unable to contain his frustration, Dillon responded sharply, "Correction. The No. 11 made contact with the No. 3." The sentiment among fans largely favored Dillon's perspective. One spectator commented, "And then his teammate wins. They knew what they were doing!" while another lamented, "Sadly if this didn't happen there a good chance @KyleBusch could have won today." Yet another chimed in, "Yep! Always cover Gibbs/Toyota/Hamlin. It’s all headline semantics. He drove into your side, video supports no attempt to steer away." Due to the caution, Bell was able to have fresher tires, which helped him pass Busch with five laps remaining. Otherwise, the old tires would have most likely slowed down the #20 car. That's why the fans blamed Hamlin for instigating a deliberate wreck that helped Bell to outpace the #8 RCR driver. However, one fan referenced a past incident to needle Dillon, recalling when he maneuvered the #11 driver into the wall at Richmond last year to secure his playoff position [which ultimately did not pan out due to NASCAR's decision], remarking, "Remember when you right rear hooked the 11 into the wall to win?" Nevertheless, the replay footage seemed to clearly show it was Hamlin who initiated the collision with the #3 driver. Dillon's frustration was quite visible during his post-race interview as well, where he expressed, "Our car handled well, and we were just trying to be patient until the end. With 18 laps to go, we were running inside the top 20, and the #11 locked up his front tires and wiped us out." "My team did a great job trying to make the repairs, but the damage in the rear was too much to fix, and we had to go to the garage." He voiced disappointment on behalf of his RCR team, lamenting that they had a car capable of finishing in the top 15, and it was unfortunate they couldn't demonstrate the same at COTA. Nevertheless, Dillon appeared optimistic about the upcoming race in Phoenix, hinting at a rebound from the setback.](https://cdn-wp.thesportsrush.com/2025/03/d8fc8a02-austin-dillon.png?format=auto&w=384&q=75)
