Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson’s recent shenanigans on the race track have got them to a situation where their relationship can almost officially be called a rivalry. Not wanting to breed contempt and carry on an unproductive route, Larson is ready to move on from the past altercations. But he does have one thing that he wants from Hamlin in return for doing so.
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He said on SiriusXM, “Going forward, I’m ready to move on. Zero issues at this point. I would just like a little bit of respect on the race track. 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.” The most recent bout between the two went down in Nashville last weekend.
Larson had run Hamlin out of room towards the end of Stage 2. Frustrated at the way he was raced, Hamlin repeatedly slammed against the back of Larson’s Chevrolet. Talking to the press in the aftermath, he expressed his opinion that Larson had just taken revenge for him doing the same thing at New Hampshire the earlier week and that the scores were settled now.
“Ready to move on.”@KyleLarsonRacin is ready to put things between him and @dennyhamlin in the past and focus on winning a championship in 2024.
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— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) July 4, 2024
Can they move past this recent string of bouts? Larson has valid reasons for why they should. He continued, “We are the two top teams in the sport right now. We are going to be battling for a lot more wins. So, I’ve enjoyed racing him in the past. Yeah, we have had a few run-ins. I’m ready to just move on and go back to have fun racing.” While the Hendrick star is willing to let history be, Hamlin might just be beginning to enjoy the idea of a rivalry.
Denny Hamlin doesn’t mind being Kyle Larson’s “rival”
Before the race at Nashville, Hamlin had refused using the word “rivalry” to describe his on-track relationship with Larson. He just viewed them as two drivers racing each other hard. But Sunday’s race appears to have turned a different switch on him. Talking on a recent episode of Actions Detrimental, he took a more balanced approach.
He told his co-host and guest Tyler Reddick, “I’m in this for the long haul. I’m fine with the way we are racing and it’s going to keep going. It’s going to keep rising.” Asked if this meant he had a rivalry with Larson, he replied, “Sure, if you want to call it that.”
