...
By Alex Harrington
Sports Contributing Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Denny Hamlin left Kansas Speedway with a message he wanted heard loud and clear: the driver of the No. 11 Toyota on Sundays is not the co-owner of 23XI Racing. That difference, between a racer who wants to win and a team owner, sat at the heart of the late-race controversy that handed Chase Elliott the Hollywood Casino 400 victory at Kansas Speedway.
A late caution for Kyle Busch’s tyre carcass set up NASCAR Overtime with Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace on the front row. As Bell (Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing team-mate) and Wallace (Hamlin’s 23XI driver) fought for control, a lane opened. Hamlin drew alongside Wallace down the back straight, attacked the low lane into Turn 3, and slid up into the No. 23.
Both cars washed up the track; Elliott committed to the bottom, cleared them, and snatched the win - and with it, an automatic berth into the next Playoff round. Wallace salvaged fifth at the flag. Hamlin, who had led a race-best 159 laps, was left to explain how a co-owner could race his own organisation’s car that hard, admitting he wasn't sorry.
Read More on Racing
“If they’re wanting an apology, they can turn off now. Because I’m racing for the win, and I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win," he said on his podcast, Actions Detrimental.
...
He continued: “On Sunday, I am the driver. The person in the No. 11 car is the driver, that’s where the disconnect, I think, comes from, is that people expect me to be a different person, they expect me to be the guy with the 23XI shirt on when I’m in the No. 11 car, and that’s just not possible. I had zero doubts in my mind, I know because I know where my mind was in that moment, is that I was racing the No. 23 the same as I would race anybody in that moment."
Hamlin has put in a mental divide between his two alter egos. He's a team boss until race day, where everything is left on the table.
“My responsibility as a team owner comes Monday through Saturday, like, it is not up to me to get 23XI Racing into the Round of 8, that’s not my responsibility, my responsibility is to get the No. 11 into the Round of 8. I’m the driver of that No. 11, Joe [Gibbs] pays me a lot of money to make sure that car wins the championship, or has a shot to, could you imagine the outrage if I just backed off and let him have it. Holy shit. People would lose their minds.”
The Florida native also defended himself as fans had commented on what was perceived as being a reckless move by the driver. But he was adamant that telemetry data would tell a different tale.
“I’ve got the data to prove it, right here, I’m in the blue, I backed off early. I’m on the brakes, he’s in the orange, I’m in the blue, look at all my previous laps, I drove into the same spot, but unfortunately, what was different is I drove into the corner – I can analyze it now, but I have a second to analyze it as I’m going down the backstretch, trying to figure out – as a driver, I’m trying to figure out angles, what angle am I going to take this corner, where is the guy beside me, all of these things play a factor into how deep you can drive into a corner, or shallow.”
From the point of view of 23XI, the frustration was understandable. Wallace, behind the wheel of the No. 23 Toyota, needed a win to keep his Playoff hopes alive. He's now had to leave Kansas 26 points below the elimination line. This means he goes into Charlotte Motor Speedway with a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
It's going to be tough this weekend for Wallace, while Hamlin goes into the weekend +48 over the cutline.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines