Hamlin was denied three consecutive Cup Series victories as Larson won the 500-lap race around Bristol Motor Speedway, with the No. 11 car finishing in second place. “It turned into a normal Bristol track there for us,” Larson said after the race, seeming very happy at having stopped Hamlin from completing a three-peat. Thus, it was quite advantageous to us. “Obviously, being in the track position is quite beneficial. It might be a very different situation and very difficult to pass Denny if he’s in front of me, you know. “But, I’m happy to halt his three-peat. As I’m sure you [the audience] do, we hate to see him win. However, it feels fantastic to be back in victory lane. Denny Hamlin responds to with his own words.
“His post-race comments about keeping me from the three in a row and you know we don’t like to see that and you fans don’t either, so now I’m like p**s on your triple, your sweep,” Hamlin stated in reference to Larson’s remarks on his Actions Detrimental podcast. “I’m happy that Chandler Smith defeated you,” Hamlin jokingly said. Prior to making those remarks, Hamlin disclosed that he had been cheering for Larson to complete the sweep and that his fellow drivers had been encouraging the 2021 Cup Series champion to humiliate the Xfinity Series field by outpacing them all. “On Friday night, Chandler Smith defeats Kyle Larson in the truck race, preventing him from making it to the triple. I’ve always gotten on Kyle, so I was cheering for him and he mentioned to me before the driver intros of the Cup race.
Hamlin remarked, “We were berating him for not dominating the field in Xfinity at Homestead.” He responded, “I tried to this time at Bristol, but the way the cautions fall, with the stages, the stages are so short,” saying, “I got as far as I could.” “Come on man, show the indictment on the Xfinity field, just lap every single one of them,” we replied. “Kyle’s friends were encouraging him to try to lap the field, which is why he was going for it so hard at the Xfinity race and almost wrecking.”
