Denny Hamlin addresses Alex Bowman wrecking Ryan Blaney at Talladega

Denny Hamlin had some thoughts on Alex Bowman’s contact with Ryan Blaney that ended the reigning champion’s afternoon at Talladega over the weekend.

It was a relatively mistake-free race up until Bowman pushed Blaney too hard coming to the line in Stage 2, and the Talladega master couldn’t hold his line, going for a ride and collecting a host of other drivers, as well. On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin addressed the altercation, revealing who he believed to be at fault.

“The Bowman-Blaney thing. As drivers, I’m starting to see a trend. Whenever you wreck someone you just say, ‘Man, I hate it. I hate it when that happens.’ I saw two weeks in a row, with [Chase] Briscoe and now Bowman, ‘Man, I just, I hate it for them.’ Yeah, right. You’re just trying to say whatever you can to make them not pissed at you, which is a good idea, a very good idea. Bowman ran into Blaney and crashed him, and that was where I got my damage,” Hamlin stated. “I ran in the back of the No. 22 because I was right there in the middle of it.

“Blaney went from — I don’t know where he was (in the playoff standings) before that big wreck, but he had to have been in the negative. No question, right? Because he was last, and all the playoff guys were towards the front. But when that big wreck happened? I mean, Blaney has got to be jumping up and down in his bus saying, ‘Thank you. I’ve got friends back here, playoff friends that are gonna finish in the 30s, just like me.’ So, he didn’t lose as much, and in fact, he’s actually in a pretty decent spot. Plus 20-something. So, I mean, there’s not much you can say about the Bowman-Blaney thing. Bowman just pushed him wrong coming to the line.

“I didn’t really see a big benefit in pushing right there at the line. There’s nothing to gain, I don’t think, in that instance. You’re locked in whatever position you’re pretty much in. So, just a push gone wrong. One thing we’ve noticed though, is it pays to be the one that actually causes the wreck, or makes the first, initial contact, right? The No. 6 got away with one on the No. 2, right, and then Bowman ended up free and clear from the Blaney wreck. So, when all else fails, just hold the gas down and run into him.”

Evidently, Denny Hamlin believes Alex Bowman shouldn’t have been pushing Ryan Blaney as hard as he did coming to the line, and it put the No. 12 in a precarious position at the time.

If it wasn’t for the gigantic wreck later in the race, the reigning champion might’ve been facing elimination at the Roval, so it’s understandable why the anger was prevalent from the Team Penske wheelman in Alabama.