Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains why friends in NASCAR tend to wreck each other after Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson incident

Sunday’s HighPoint.com 400 at Pocono Raceway was a prime example of friend-on-friend crime on the race track, as Denny Hamlin appeared to make contact with Kyle Larson while executing a pass to take the lead with seven laps remaining to secure his 50th NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Speaking on “The Dale Jr. Download” Monday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained why friends in NASCAR tend to wreck each other.

“I agree that it was a dirty move to door him,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “To throttle up and door him, but it’s for the win. It’s not how you would expect friends to race friends. But maybe that friendship which I’ve seen this and I’ve been apart of this on the race track. When you got buddies, you use them up. Oh, yeah. Because you know, you’re like, ‘Hey, man, I know this guy. I know he is not gonna do anything, I know… I know it.’

“You know, I can I know, I feel like I can take advantage of this situation and get out of the car and go, ‘Hey, bud. Come on, man. You know, we just racing.’ Yeah, I’ve seen it before from other drivers that were friends and I’ve been in that situation with other drivers that were friends.”

The Hamlin-Larson friendship was certainly tested Sunday, as it resulted in Larson walking away with an underwhelming P20 finish. While Larson said it wouldn’t affect their friendship, he didn’t hide his displeasure with how Hamlin raced him in that moment.

Kyle Larson says he’s ‘pissed’ after Denny Hamlin pushed him into wall

“I’ve been cost a lot of good finishes by him throughout my career,” Larson said after the race. “And I know he says that I race a certain way, but I don’t think I’ve ever had to apologize to him about anything. Not that I’m sure he’ll say ‘I’m sorry’ after this, but it is what it is. Just move on and try to go to Richmond, where we won earlier this year. It is what it is. Yeah, we’re friends. Yes, this makes things awkward. But he’s always right. All the buddies know Denny’s always right. It is what it is. I’m not gonna let it tarnish our friendship off track. But I am pissed, and I feel like I should be pissed.

“I think at this point I have the right. Like I’ve said, I’ve never had to apologize to him about anything I’ve done on the race track. I can count four or five times where he’s had to reach out to me and say, ‘Sorry I’ve put you in a bad spot there.’ So eventually, like he says, you have to start racing people a certain way to get the respect back.”