Denny Hamlin makes stance clear after Bubba – Sports News
Denny Hamlin will be the co-owner of 23XI Racing together with Michael Jordan, however when he’s behind the wheel of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, he has no intention of holding back when racing his workers.
The 44-year-old’s pursuit of NASCAR Cup Series race win quantity 60 got here to a disappointing finish on Sunday on the Hollywood Casino 400, with Hamlin and 23XI’s Bubba Wallace clashing late within the last lap of double extra time. The collision despatched Wallace’s No. 23 into the wall whereas each have been overtaken by Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott simply in time for the No. 9 to take the checkered flag.
The end result not solely ended Hamlin and Wallace’s hopes of successful, but in addition leaves Wallace’s Playoff standing in significantly precarious stead heading into the Round of 12 finale at Charlotte’s Roval.
However, addressing the incident on his ‘Action’s Detrimental’ podcast on Monday, Hamlin insisted that he feels no need to apologize to 23XI or Wallace as he was merely “racing for the win.” He added, “And I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win.”
Hamlin went on to explain, “On Sunday, I am the driver. The person in the 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 a 23XI shirt on when I’m in the 11 car, and that’s just not possible.”
Hamlin later added that he was merely racing Wallace just as he would any other driver, including his own teammates – a timely note given his recent clash with JGR’s Ty Gibbs at New Hampshire.
“My responsibilities as the team owner come Monday through Saturday,” Hamlin said. “It is not up to me to get 23XI into the Round of 8, if that makes any sense. That’s not my responsibility.
“My responsibility is to get the 11 into the Round of 8. I’m the driver on Sunday of that 11. Joe pays me a lot of money to make sure that that car wins a championship or has a shot to. And I mean, could you imagine the outrage if I just backed off and let him have it? Holy s—. People lose their minds. But instead, I think Bubba said it very accurately; We were going for the win.”
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Now with the data and footage to hand, Hamlin did admit that he would have approached the turn differently, suggesting he “would have backed off early because I would have thought, you know what, he’s probably going to overdrive the corner, and I’ll just get back by him on the exit. But man, that’s Monday morning quarterback.”
The result of it all was that, in Hamlin’s mind, they “gave the 9 car the win,” and in so doing, secured Elliott’s spot in the Round of 8 alongside Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney after his win at New Hampshire.
Despite this, Hamlin’s mindset looks unlikely to change moving forward. He explained, “I’ve acquired 70 races left in my profession. Three alternatives left to win a championship. I can win a championship as an proprietor for many years. The window is closing.”
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