Denny Hamlin made a conscious decision at Pocono Raceway to force Kyle Larson into choosing between racing side-by-side through Turn 1 or hitting the wall. It was not the first time, nor will it be the last time that Hamlin chooses to race aggressively.
“Honestly, I think it was after the [Ross] Chastain thing for sure,” Hamlin said of changing his on-track approach. “I was very vocal that I need to do something. At the time, the scales were like three to nothing. I was very frustrated. My team was frustrated at me for not doing anything.
“The mindset just changed. You have to put it out there that you are going to be aggressive.”
Chastain and Hamlin had a running feud throughout last season. The move Hamlin made on Larson last weekend was no different from what he did to Chastain in the same corner at Pocono last season when the Joe Gibbs Racing driver took advantage of an opportunity to send a message.
At the Busch Light Clash in L.A. earlier this year, Chastain got into Hamlin again. It left Hamlin again seeing an opportunity to get back at the Trackhouse driver, doing so on the final lap at Phoenix Raceway that resulted in a penalty from NASCAR.
“I think if a guy is going to run into you, you’re going to run back into him,” Hamlin continued. “That’s the way I’ve got to change things from this point forward because, for the most part, it’s been tough results for us at the end of the races, especially the last three years.
“I’ve been spun out of the lead three times, so it’s really, really tough. I just said it’s time to be more aggressive. I certainly hate that it came at Kyle’s expense, for sure. If there is anyone that I probably should protect, it’s those guys and my teammates. The win just meant a lot to me at the time. I made an attempt to pass him, and it didn’t happen the way I intended.”
One incident dates back to 2019 with Kevin Harvick in New Hampshire, although Hamlin didn’t spin. He made a run to the outside of Harvick in Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap, which Harvick responded to by going right and running into Hamlin to break his momentum. Harvick admitted afterward to waiting for the No. 11 to get “to the outside of me and put a wheel on him.”
Chase Briscoe spun Hamlin from the lead on the Indianapolis road course in the summer of 2021. The contact happened on an overtime restart, which was made worse by Briscoe being under penalty at the time and not racing for the victory.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]
Alex Bowman spun the No. 11 from the race lead into the Turn 3 wall with seven laps to go in the fall 2021 race at Martinsville Speedway. Bowman went on to win the race. Hamlin interrupted his burnout and called him a “hack” afterward.
The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran and 23XI team owner believes moves like his at Pocono have become more accepted over the years. With the championship format that was put in place in 2014 — a winner-take-all system — Hamlin thinks there has been more hard racing at the end of races with a win-at-all-costs mentality.
He’s just been adapting to the system and trying to be more selfish for the sake of the No. 11 team — vying for race wins and staying in the championship hunt.
“I think it’s just different now,” he said. “The cars are closer together. Passing is more difficult than it’s ever been. Even Mark Martin would have to adjust his style in this type of car because the days of the gentlemen letting the guy go and you will just go and get them later – it’s just a different game nowadays. I wish we could go back to those days, but that is not where we’re at. You have to adapt to where you’re at. You adapt or you die.
“I feel like over the last few years, I’ve decided to be more aggressive because I’ve got used up by aggressive [drivers] and it’s hard to blame them at the time, especially in a race-winning situation. You’re upset when someone just right-rear hooks you or runs right in the back of you in stage one and spins you out and puts you in the wall. That’s one thing. Racing for the win is certainly a lot different from what it has been in the past and if you have one person willing to be aggressive and one not, aggressive will win every time. It’s just the facts of it, and usually, you’re not going to find two guys that are the nice guy at the end of these races anymore.
“Someone has to take it to the next level to want it. And then if you have two guys who really want it, you see what happens at Darlington where this person is squeezed. Well, next restart, this person is squeezed. That’s just what happens. I’m adamant that’s when the race fans win. That’s when they get to see the action and the passion they want to see.”