Denny Hamlin picks a side in Kyle Busch-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fight

Denny Hamlin broke down what led to the fight between Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. following the All-Star Race over the weekend.

While Hamlin admitted it’s a difficult position he found himself in, as he doesn’t like to have to pick sides, the No. 11 wheelman elaborated on how it all went down during the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast.

“This is difficult. This is one of those difficult positions that I find myself in. Because I try not to pick sides, but I’ll call it how I see it,” Hamlin started. “Let’s go back to the on-track stuff. I see both sides, however, my driving style supports a little more of Kyle’s side, because I believe that there are times where Ricky finds himself in these situations, because he puts himself in these situations. It is Lap 1. Did he shove through the middle of us? Yes. Did I have a problem with it? I did not. It is the All-Star Race. We just talked about it earlier. The drivers, you kind of understand that there’s a little bit more aggressiveness going on in this type of race. So I see Kyle’s side of it, ‘Dude, you shoved middle on a short-track on Lap 1. Like, where are you going?’ I see that part. I understand.

“However, the counter to that is that I see Ricky’s side saying, ‘Dude, I never touched you until you hit the wall.’ Now, I think contact was inevitable, because there wasn’t enough room for Kyle, no matter what. Ricky did put him in a position where Kyle was going to have to lift, and if he did not lift, the contact was going to happen. Kyle didn’t lift, or he tried to lift, but it was too late. The No. 47 was already coming up. I knew we were three-wide. I left plenty of room on the bottom. I am no part of this drama whatsoever, I’ve got no part in it. … The contact was inevitable, because there was not enough room left for Kyle on the high-side of the race track.”

While Hamlin relented that Stenhouse Jr.’s decision on Lap 1 was a little dense, he doesn’t believe it warranted the reaction from Busch that it received.

“So you know, was the contact so egregious that it warranted him like, destroying the No. 47? No,” Hamlin added. “I don’t believe so. I certainly don’t believe it was — you know, I think that kind of contact was warranted if the No. 47 car ran into the back of the No. 8 and spun him out early in the race, and when the No. 8 comes back around, later in the race, sure, spin him out. An eye for an eye.

“I just think it was a little bit overboard, considering all the variables that have happened, but I do think there’s a little bit of pent-up frustration on Kyle’s part.”

Regardless, it’s likely not the last we’ve seen of Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s beef, as the anger between these two drivers is unlike anything we’ve seen in the last couple of seasons. We’ll see who makes the next move, but Denny Hamlin will have a watchful eye on the No. 8 and the No. 47.