Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin weren’t the best of friends after the early-April Cup Series race in Richmond. Despite dominating the fixture to a great extent, Truex suffered defeat at the hands of Hamlin who’d employed less-than-ideal means to win the race. In retaliation, Truex had bumped his car into Hamlin’s rear repeatedly to express his displeasure after the checkered flag.
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After weeks of justifiable frustration, the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates are now as thick as ever again. Talking to Kevin Harvick on the “Harvick Happy Hour” podcast, the duo spoke about the fiasco and where they stand in regards to it. Truex, generously, admitted that bumping into Hamlin’s car was a mistake and that he’d been carried away by the moment’s emotions.
He also revealed that the #11 driver had been the one to reach out first after the race and try making amends. “We’ve raced each other for so many wins and so many different things over the years,” he continued. “It’s a respect level, right? No matter what happens on the race track I get it. We are there to race. We are there to win. We are there to do the best for our team.”
Not very pleased with his demeanor after the defeat, Truex said that drivers have to swallow their pride and apologize when they do something “stupid” after a race. He added that learning to deal with the emotions that come with disappointments is one of the most important lessons in motorsports. Closing off, he reiterated that he had a lot of respect for Hamlin and everyone that he has raced with for years.
Denny Hamlin’s empathy for Martin Truex Jr. after crucial Richmond victory
The one hot point that formed gray clouds above NASCAR after the Richmond race was the issue of Hamlin jumping the final restart. Though many deemed the driver to be at fault, the sanctioning body did not agree. He went on to capture the win at the expense of Truex Jr. who’d led 228 laps, the highest in the grid. Right from the post-race interviews, Hamlin began understanding his teammate’s sensitivity.
He did the same speaking to Harvick. “I knew how upset he was because I knew the history of this,” he said. “It has happened to him five times. I was empathizing. I said it after the race, the guy, six times has dominated this race and not won it for various reasons. I understand why he is going off the rails. I get it.” White flags flying high going to Dover, one of Truex’s strongest tracks, all is well in the Joe Gibbs camp.
