Denny Hamlin dives deep with Kenny Wallace into Kyle Larson rivalry

As the rivalry between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson heats up, at least one of the drivers is trying to keep things framed in the right context. It can get downright dangerous otherwise.

So while Hamlin is certainly friends with Larson off the track, he knows that when it’s go-time, there are no more pleasantries.

Not after Larson has seemingly tried to use contact to force his way past Hamlin, like he did when he instead wiped out Ross Chastain at Nashville two weeks ago. Incidents like that have made it easier for Hamlin to realize there are two relationships — on the track and off it.

“I think that we’ve been friends off the racetrack for a very long time,” Denny Hamlin told Kenny Wallace on the Kenny Conversation podcast. “I think that our friendship was always better before we started competing for race wins against each other. I think that certainly when he got in the Hendrick No. 5 car he stepped into a top-tier organization. He’s finally getting that top equipment that the rest of us have got and now he’s showing what his ability is.

“What I’ve learned over time, though, is that it is very difficult to keep a friendship on the racetrack as well. I think that you have to be able to separate those two things. So I think that while kind of our relationship is not as close as it once was, I kind of wish it was, but I’m also OK if it isn’t, because I think that we need to continue to push as much as we can to win for ourselves and our own team.”

The two have been in a dogfight in the standings all season long. At various points, there have been ebbs and flows, but for now, Larson sits atop the standings. Both drivers have three wins this season, though, and the gap isn’t a big one.

That’s why Denny Hamlin’s going to keep it aggressive when the two are out there on the racetrack, friendship or not.

“The fans lose out if we’re not able to separate those two and go out there and battle for a race win at Pocono on the last lap,” Hamlin said. “If we start cutting each other breaks, the fans don’t get the reward of that exciting finish that they deserve. So they should want us to have that rivalry on the race track. And then what we do off the racetrack is frankly none of their business.”

It may not be the best NASCAR rivalry going currently, but it’s getting close. Both drivers have high stakes given their points standings, meaning there’s a ton to race for down the stretch.

So don’t be surprised if Denny Hamlin gets into Kyle Larson occasionally, or vice versa.

“We saw it in Dale Earnhardt, I feel like was that way with some of his toughest rivals,” Hamlin said. “He would go fishing or whatever with some of his toughest rivals, but he knew how to separate that on the racetrack.”