Denny Hamlin insists he is innocent and blames ‘a weird aero spot’ for Kyle Larson’s Pocono crash

Denny Hamlin became the winningest Cup driver ever in Pocono on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin insists he is innocent and blames ‘a weird aero spot’ for Kyle Larson’s Pocono crash

Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin (Credits: Getty)

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin created history on Sunday at Pocono. He secured his 50th Cup Series Career win and Toyota’s 600th NASCAR race at the tricky triangle. Hamlin also became the winningest Cup driver on the track on Sunday, as it was his seventh Cup race win there. But all these accomplishments were overshadowed by his crash with Kyle Larson.  

On the last restart of the race, both Hamlin and Kyle Larson were fighting for the lead from the get-go. Approaching turn one, the Toyota driver closed who was in the inside lane started coming up, forcing the Hendrick Motorsports driver to race closer to the wall. As the gap closed, the No:5 Chevy was sent to the wall, and he lost control and dropped to the back.

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After the race, Hamlin insisted that there was no contact between them and that it was the aero issue with the Next-Gen car that caused the issue. He made the same argument on his podcast “Action Detrimental.” In the Dale Earnhardt Jr. backed show, he claimed that the narrative about his sending Larson to the wall was false.

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“It’s just a weird aero spot with these race cars. People think we made contact, and it knocked him into the wall. That is not the case. Sorry. That’s not the case at all. I understand that’s the narrative that wants to be had, but it’s not a true one,” Denny Hamlin said.

While Hamlin took home the checkered flag, Larson’s day ended with a P20, depriving him of valuable playoff points. The 23XI Racing co-owner and the 2021 Cup champion previously found themselves in the same situation in Kansas, which saw the latter getting tagged and Hamlin securing the win.

In case you missed it: WATCH: Joey Logano goes on a profanity-laced tirade at Pocono track workers

Fans booed Denny Hamlin after the win

Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin (Credits: @Joegibsracing/Twitter)

The Toyota driver was received with boos instead of applause. Fans weren’t pleased with how Hamlin secured his milestone wins. Larson is one of the most renowned drivers in the garage, and Hamlin is one of the most hated drivers on the grid was a factor.

But Hamlin isn’t concerned about the reactions as he has seen it many times over the 50 times he made it to the victory lane. He pointed out that he is now too old to care about the books from fans. Hamlin added that he understands the passion of NASCAR fans.

“I mean, I’m just too old to care. Had I gotten another 20 years ahead of me, I get it. Fandom doesn’t give me trophies. Fandom doesn’t do the job for me. In my career, just had some pivotal moments getting into guys when they were super-popular, I just kind of wasn’t. I’m okay with it because the fans are passionate about what they saw,” Hamlin said after the race on Sunday.

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