Kyle Larson makes surprise admission on 'dumb and aggressive' incident with Denny Hamlin

Kyle Larson reflected on a move he made on Denny Hamlin during the NASCAR Cup Series race in Nashville last week. While speaking to reporters before the Chicago Street Race, Larson was asked by Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports if he was deliberately aggressive on the restart during the first overtime since Hamlin was on the front row.

“I don’t know. I mean, I’m not sure because I didn’t have somebody in front of me to know how I would’ve raced,” Larson said. “I would ultimately known that I would need clean air on the nose no matter whose in front of me. But yeah, guess maybe less likely to be as dumb and aggressive as I was. But you don’t really know until you’re put in the situation.”

Would Kyle Larson have made a different move on the first overtime restart at Nashville if it wasn’t Denny Hamlin in front of him? He said he doesn’t know: pic.twitter.com/jLjGpcJuAD

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) July 6, 2024

Larson was lined up on the second row behind Hamlin and Ross Chastain. During the restart, Larson battled Hamlin for the lead, but his aggression led to him wrecking Chastain, who finished 33rd. Larson took responsibility for the crash but stated he was doing what he could to get a victory.

Kyle Larson says he’s always ‘enjoyed racing’ Denny Hamlin

Larson and Hamlin have had their run-ins the last few weeks, leading to some believing the two are arch-rivals on the track. On Saturday, Larson spoke to reporters about why he’s ready to move on from his perceived rivalry with Hamlin and get back to having fun racing against him.

“Just feeling like you can trust the moves that somebody is going to make on you. I feel like that’s — when you know, you can have close racing, you can have trust in what they’re going to do, I think that’s fun, to me. Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed racing him a lot, before I guess the middle of last year. But no, I’m sure we can get back to that point, and we’ve had fun racing each other since Pocono,” Larson told Dustin Long of NBC. “There’s just been a few incidents where I feel like I’ve just been ran out of space a little more than somebody else would put me in, in a situation. But yeah, I guess that can be considered racing sometimes.”

Both Larson and Hamlin have secured their spots in the playoffs, winning three Cup Series races each this year. Larson is looking to win his second Cup Series title after winning it in 2021. Hamlin, who has won the Daytona 500 three times, is looking to win his first Cup Series championship.