NASCAR: Denny Hamlin jokes about Kyle Larson accident
By Asher Fair
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson were able to joke about the contact that sent Larson into the wall in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.
On lap 34 of this past Sunday’s 200-lap Auto Club 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin were running in 13th and 14th place, respectively.
They were running in a four-car pack closely between Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones in 12th place and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in 15th.
Heading into turn one of the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) oval in Fontana, California, Hamlin’s #11 Toyota had been given a slight push from Harvick’s #4 Ford.
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Shortly thereafter, despite the fact that Harvick was no longer on his rear bumper, Hamlin made seemingly unintentional contact with the rear bumper of Larson’s #42 Chevrolet.
But this contact was hard enough that it sent Larson’s car into the wall.
The damage caused to the #42 Chevrolet by this run-in caused Larson to make an unscheduled pit stop and go one lap down, and he ultimately could not recover.
Larson finished in 21st place, one lap off the lead lap, while Hamlin went on to finish in sixth.
Here is a video of the incident.
Ouch. @dennyhamlin pushes @KyleLarsonRacin into the wall while entering the corner. (📺: FOX) pic.twitter.com/5yTWzYlorU
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 1, 2020
But they were both able to joke about it later.
After the race, Hamlin and Larson, who are close friends off the track, went grocery shopping, and Hamlin “reenacted” the accident by running into the back of Larson with his shopping cart, quickly drawing Larson’s attention and leading to laughter.
Here is a video.
Coming through... @KyleLarsonRacin pic.twitter.com/J1luMWQMsz
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) March 2, 2020
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Phoenix Raceway is scheduled to host the next race on the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule this Sunday, March 8 at Phoenix Raceway. This race, the FanShield 500, is the first of two races at the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) oval in Avondale, Arizona this season, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET.