NASCAR: Denny Hamlin jokingly takes a shot at Ford, Brad Keselowski

NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin took a shot at Ford following the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Last year prior to the August race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, who drives the #2 Ford for Team Penske, took a shot at the Toyota drivers, claiming that they had an unfair advantage and purposely sandbagged in the race’s qualifying session to avoid being caught cheating.

Keselowski ended up topping this qualifying session and sitting on the pole for the race alongside his teammate Joey Logano. They ended up finishing in 17th and 28th place in the race, respectively. The race winner was Kyle Larson in his #42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Keselowski’s claim was met with criticism from the Toyota drivers almost immediately. Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin tweeted about Keselowski’s claim, and Kyle Busch called the Team Penske driver a “[expletive] moron”.

Here is what ESPN motorsports writer Bob Pockrass tweeted about what Keselowski said.

Here are the comments that Truex Jr. and Hamlin responded with about the subject on Twitter.

Following the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia this past season, Hamlin took a similar shot at Ford after their dominant showing. However, unlike Keselowski when he took a shot at Toyota, Hamlin did so jokingly.

Ford drivers finished in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the race, with Kevin Harvick leading Keselowski and Clint Bowyer to the finish line after 325 laps of action around the four-turn, 1.54-mile D-shaped oval. Ford drivers combined to lead 272 of those 325 laps, with Harvick leading 181 of those laps in a race that featured a total of 24 lead changes.

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In a clear reference to what Keselowski said before last year’s August Michigan race, here is what Hamlin had to say about the matter, according to MSN.

"“It’s clear that the Fords have an unfair advantage.”"

Obviously, Hamlin, who made this claim with a smile, was joking about this matter. In fact, he was probably taking a shot at Keselowski for his comments last August more so than he was taking a shot at Ford — if he was actually even taking a shot at Ford — and even so, he clearly meant no harm by it.

Perhaps he was just trying to lighten the mood given his recent history of controversial racing incidents and comments.

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Will Ford end up having the upper hand this season like Toyota did in the second half of last season, or will Toyota remain the sport’s top team throughout the year? Will Chevrolet improve with their new Camaro ZL1, and if so, when will the Chevrolet drivers become regular contenders to win races? The third race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, which is the Pennzoil 400, is scheduled to be broadcast live on FOX at 3:30 pm ET this Sunday, March 4th from Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.