After Kyle Larson crossed the finish line at Bristol, he did more than just set new personal records for himself. With his victory, he crushed Denny Hamlin’s hopes of a triple-peat, although he still managed to finish as the runner-up. Despite witnessing Larson’s utter dominance, fans and critics were largely displeased with the competition.
Many found it lacking the essence of the sport, while others found it restrictive and unexciting. And though there were several factors to it, most of the blame was taken by NASCAR’s NextGen car.
This, however, did not sit right with Hamlin, and in his statement following the race, he spoke in favor of the truth.
Kyle Larson’s Bristol Dominance and The Criticism
After Larson took the lead in the 40th lap, his No. 5 Chevy was pretty much unstoppable. He swept both Stages 1 and 2 with ease and barely ever lost his lead. In the end, he led for a total of 411 laps out of 500. Right behind him was Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, which fell short of 2.250 seconds.
Larson’s performance failed to impress several folks who found the competition a little too one-sided. While fans criticized Larson online, their main target was NASCAR and their NextGen car.
It is no secret that the NextGen car has not been very kind to shorter tracks ever since its inception. With all its positives, the new car has changed the shape of racing on shorter tracks because of its build and this has often irked critics. This issue became all the more inflated after a race at Bristol that, according to many fans, was lackluster and biased.
Denny Hamlin Defending His Contemporary
After finishing in the second position, Hamlin appeared on camera and had a quick word with the media. Here, he spoke about what went down in the race, the conditions of the track, and what cost him the win.
While he spoke about his own shortcomings – limited versatility and inability to optimally navigate through the traffic, he was not shy of showing his appreciation towards Larson. Hamlin praised the HMS racer’s superior driving skill, his sharp knack to cut the traffic, and above all, his pace that helped him seal the win.
When a reporter asked Hamlin about his preferred better Bristol race and his take on one team and driver dominating the track, he said:
“Yeah, I am not really sure. I think it kinda depends on who you’re rooting for.”
He also went on to defend his contemporary and his team and actually praised their performance.
“You’ve got to give teams their due when they dominate. We shouldn’t throw mud on, you know, the racing or whatever, because someone goes out there and dominates. I at least kept them honest for a little while.”
Hamlin acknowledged that Hendrick Motorsports was superior back in the fall race at Bristol, the same as Sunday. He gave credit to the functioning of the team and their highly skilled drivers.