Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighed in on the ongoing tension between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson Despite Hamlin’s spotter Freddie Kraf involvement

Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighed in on the ongoing tension between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson Despite Hamlin’s spotter Freddie Kraf involvement

Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighed in on the ongoing tension between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. Despite Hamlin’s spotter Freddie Kraft, downplaying the notion of a ‘rivalry,’ Earnhardt Jr. has opined there is a rivalry brewing between the two drivers.

The feud between Hamlin and Larson isn’t fresh news; they’ve had their share of clashes in the past. Last year, the conflict grabbed headlines, especially during the Pocono Race, when Hamlin forced Larson towards the wall, resulting in the #5 crashing into the outside fence. They fixed their relationship later on by talking to each other off the track.

This year, the tension reignited at the USA Today 301 in New Hampshire, where Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson vied for the second spot. As they charged around the fourth turn, they went wheel to wheel, nudging each other and engaging in a thrilling side-by-side duel with 94 laps to
go.

After struggling to overtake, Hamlin doubled down on his efforts on the following lap and finally got the second position, though not without heavy contact. However, the drama escalated last week at the Ally 400 in Nashville Superspeedway. Seizing a chance for payback during the final moments of Stage 2, Larson maneuvered Hamlin’s #11 Toyota up the track.

While some NASCAR commentators have dismissed the idea of a developing rivalry, Dale Earnhardt Jr. sees it differently. Speaking on Dirty Mo. Media, Dale Jr. confirmed that, in his view, there definitely is a rivalry between Hamlin and Larson.

“Hamlin and Larson had, there was a debate on Denny’s show about it being a rivalry. This debate has been going on for two weeks. Last week Denny said it was not a rivalry. This week he slipped up and said it was. So, I think it’s a rivalry. I think it’s been a rivalry since way back in Pocono when they when Larson and open the fence there so it’s been a rivalry,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dirty Mo. Media.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. justifies Kyle Larson’s outburst in New Hampshire
“Shut the f*ck up.”

“He’s [Kyle Larson] not overly aggressive when you kind of push him around a little bit. He doesn’t get too crazy, he just races. I think they’re trying to tell him, ‘Look man, stop letting that happen,’ and he ain’t want to hear that, from his guys, So he snapped, and finally shot back, and made it pretty clear that type of information from his spotter isn’t something he’s going to want to hear anytime in the future.”

At New Hampshire, Denny Hamlin’s maneuver to overtake Kyle Larson for the second position resulted in heavy contact, sparking a bit of back-and-forth between Kyle Larson and his spotter, Tyler Monn. Monn pointed over the radio that Larson’s passive approach allowed Hamlin to dominate, to which Larson replied,