Kyle Larson bumps and passes Denny Hamlin two laps down at Richmond

While it wasn’t the huge climatic moment we hoped it would be, Kyle Larson did give Denny Hamlin a bump to pass him at Richmond. While Kyle Larson fought to stay just two laps down with 70 laps to go, Larson put his bumper to him. These two NASCAR drivers are not on great terms when it comes to on the track.

Kyle Larson said he would race Denny Hamlin differently, and he is. Larson didn’t wait to let Hamlin know he was faster than him with fresher tires and he wanted to get his track position back. Even if he was multiple laps down, he let him know he was there.

This might just be the beginning with these two drivers. Larson isn’t in the lead group, but that won’t change the fact these two could meet again on the track.

Kyle Larson BUMPS Denny Hamlin! #NASCAR

Watch on USA Network. pic.twitter.com/rG8B4cXqRY

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 30, 2023

Kyle Larson is not having the day he thought he would have. He’s been struggling all afternoon to find speed. Nothing that he’s done has helped and he has fought to not be lapped multiple times. While he isn’t racing very well, that doesn’t mean he has to give Hamlin an easy time.

To be honest, the bump was harmless but a stern message. Larson wanted Hamlin to know he was there and he wasn’t going to play games with him. In other words, he didn’t want to be raced like Hamlin raced Bubba Wallace during this Cook Out 400.

Kyle Larson will move on to the next race

With this race pretty much a throwaway, Kyle Larson and his team will just move on. They have multiple wins this season and have shown plenty of speed most weeks. This was a strange day where Hendrick was off for all of their cars. None of the four drivers were sniffing a top-10 for most of the day.

The story of this race has been the Toyotas and Fords. Particularly, the 23XI drivers and RFK drivers. Throw Hamlin into that 23XI group and you get the picture. A huge surprise was how well the SHR Fords performed as well. It made for an interesting green flag race for most of the afternoon.

Kyle Larson can’t get it going, he won’t get it going in the final laps of this one. So, it’s onto the next one. The good news is he doesn’t have to worry about a playoff spot like two of his teammates in Elliott and Alex Bowman.