In the latest episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast on Monday, Denny Hamlin said he holds no regrets for chasing the victory in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race at Kansas Speedway despite last-lap contact with his employee, Bubba Wallace.
The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver also serves as the team co-owner of 23XI Racing, for which Wallace drives the No. 23 Toyota. Hamlin charged into Turn 3 on the final lap of the Hollywood Casino 400 alongside Wallace, and both slid up the track, leaving Wallace in the wall and Hamlin slow enough to allow Chase Elliott to dart past both and score the win in NASCAR Overtime.
MORE: Race results | Details of last-lap dash
Hamlin admits he would do things differently had he known how tight his car was to Wallace’s, but he did not anticipate saying ‘sorry’ soon, either.
“If (listeners are) wanting an apology, they can turn it off now,” Hamlin said on his weekly Dirty Mo Media show, “because I’m racing for the win and I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win.”
Hamlin reiterated his commitment as driver of the JGR No. 11 when he is behind the wheel, meaning his goal is to get that car into Victory Lane no matter who stands in its way.
“On Sunday, I am the driver. The person in the 11 car is the driver,” Hamlin said. “That’s where the disconnect, I think, comes from, is that people expect me to be a different person. They expect me to be the guy with the 23XI shirt on when I’m in the 11 car, and that’s just not possible. It’s not possible.
“My responsibilities as team owner come Monday through Saturday. Like, it is not up to me to get 23XI into the Round of 8, if that makes any sense. That’s not my responsibility. My responsibility is to get the 11 into the Round of 8. I’m the driver on Sunday of that 11. Joe (Gibbs) pays me a lot of money to make sure that that car wins a championship, or has a shot to. And I mean, could you imagine the outrage if I had just backed off and let him have it? Holy [expletive]. People would lose their minds. But instead, I think Bubba said it very accurately — we were going for the win. Both guys were going for the win.”
Hamlin, who made his Cup Series debut at Kansas in 2005, currently holds 59 career wins in NASCAR’s premier series and sits 11th behind Kevin Harvick. Wallace is eyeing a spot in the Round of 8 for the first time in his blossoming career and would have been guaranteed that spot by winning Sunday’s race. But chasing a milestone win after signing a two-year contract extension over the summer, the 44-year-old Hamlin is not willing to back down when staring a potential victory in the eyes.
“My mentality into the last corner was, I hope I win,” Hamlin said. “I’ve got 70 races left in my career. Three opportunities left to win a championship. I can win a championship as an owner for decades. The window is closing. Sixty is right in front of me at the track I got my very first start. Like, I want to be sympathetic and I am sympathetic and I hate it that the 23 is below the cut, but 23XI ran like dog-[expletive] at [expletive] New Hampshire and that’s why they’re below the cut. And I hate that for the drivers because unfortunately had to drive that.”
This story will be updated.
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