Denny Hamlin explains why he was so aggressive racing Ryan Blaney at Homestead-Miami

Late in the 4EVER 400, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney went after one another on the track for the lead and it cost both of them. The 11 and 12 cars battled so hard, they started to fall back in the top-5 after leading a restart with less than 50 laps to go in the NASCAR race.

For Ryan Blaney, it was a moment of frustration. He called Denny Hamlin a choice word during the incident. Hamlin would find himself in the wall after his steering failed on him and that was the end of that small battle.

While Blaney was mad about how he was raced and felt Hamlin used up his tires for no good reason, the elder driver felt justified in his actions.

After being released from the care center, Denny Hamlin spoke to the media. He was simply trying to get to the front with clean air. However, it didn’t work out. Not that it would have mattered much, anyway.

“Whoever leads the race at such a key moment has got such a big advantage,” Hamlin said, via Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “So, I had the bottom I took it on the bottom. If I didn’t get clear like I didn’t off of Turn 2 I knew it was going to be tough to hold it and unfortunately, we just got split there and that was it. It didn’t matter because we broke anyway.”

Denny Hamlin explains the dicey restart, which in the end obviously didn’t matter for him since they had a mechanical issue. pic.twitter.com/EzHAQGMUNy

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 23, 2023

So, Denny’s got a new rivalry it seems. Add this one to the long book of feuds over the years. If it isn’t one thing, it’s another. Now Hamlin will have to go into Martinsville next week and try to advance to the Championship 4.

Denny Hamlin in a hole after Miami

17 points under the cutline, Denny Hamlin has work to do. He and teammate Martin Truex Jr. DNF’d about the same time. Truex blew his engine and Hamlin lost steering. Now, they’re in a hole and have to dig themselves out at Martinsville.

Technically, they don’t have to win. However, realistically only one of these drivers can make it, at most. William Byron is 30 points above the cutline, Ryan Blaney is 10 points up. Then you have Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell locked into Phoenix after today.

Two spots are open, but with Byron’s points cushion, it is more like 1.5 spots. Win and you’re in, it’s that simple for these other drivers not already locked into Phoenix. However, it is never that simple, is it?

Ryan Blaney might think Denny Hamlin is a “hack” after today. But that won’t stop the 5-time winner at Martinsville from trying to make it 6 wins.