“Blatant Retaliation!” Denny Hamlin Blasts Kyle Busch for Wrecking Riley Herbst as Payback

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin has shared his thoughts on Kyle Busch taking revenge on 23xI Racing’s Riley Herbst at Bristol.

“Blatant Retaliation!” Denny Hamlin Blasts Kyle Busch for Wrecking Riley Herbst as Payback

Riley Herbst, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol last Sunday witnessed some wild moments and Kyle Busch was involved two chaotic moments. One was him getting spun by 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst early in the race and the second was the veteran taking his payback with an aggressive move, spinning the youngster out.

23XI co-owner and JGR veteran Denny Hamlin wasn’t a fan of his former teammate’s actions. Talking about the incident, the veteran highlighted how the situation was already frustrating for the No:8 Richard Childress Racing team even before the spin, hinting this might have played a key role in the retaliation.

It’s not short track racing, he wanted to pay him back. Did you listen to the team radio? They had met their fun quota on the day. Things are not going well in the Kyle Busch camp. They’re all searching. Riley got into him. [They were telling] Riley right before he got into Kyle, saying, ‘Drive right into his left rear.’ And they literally drove into his left rear.

Denny Hamlin said on his podcast.

According to Denny Hamlin there wasn’t any major contact between Kyle Busch and Riley Herbst when the crash occurred. When the angry two-time champion got the opportunity for payback, he took it. While the No:11 driver understands the situation, he didn’t appreciate how blatant the revenge move was.

Didn’t take much, I mean, he barely touched him, but, nonetheless, it ended in the result of Kyle Busch spinning and getting crashed… Kyle saw an opportunity, and he took it. Did I have a problem with it? Yes and no, but more no than yes. … I don’t love the just blatant retaliation, but I’m more no than yes.

Denny Hamlin added via Actions Detrimental.

Denny Hamlin casts doubt on Kyle Busch’s chance of winning again in Next-Gen era  

In the same podcast, the Hamlin talked about how tough the 2026 season so far has been for Kyle Busch and his team, who is yet to secure a top-5 finish. They have now completed 100 races without a win, with the last victory lane visit coming three years ago at Gateway. The JGR veteran believes now the field is settled with Next-Gen car, RCR is one of the team that are desperately searching for speed.  

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch (Via IMAGO)

I think he’s searching. I think he doesn’t know how to get the speed out of the Next Gen car on a consistent basis. There’s been flashes of it. Yes, he won three races his first season at RCR. That was the first season of Next Gen; everybody was guessing at that point. That’s when Trackhouse was hauling ass and there were always these isolated teams that would pop up and dominate the weekend.

Denny Hamlin said.

Later in the same conversation, the veteran driver explained that the struggles of the No:8 team isn’t just a team issue, as despite being super talented Kyle Busch has been struggling for over five years to perform at his peak. Hamlin feels everyone in the community needs to accept this fact, including the veteran’s crew in order make better decisions for the future.

Also Read: “Everyone Makes Mistakes!” Denny Hamlin Exposes Why NASCAR Fans Hate Ty Gibbs