NASCAR CUP SERIES: HIGHPOINT.COM 400

July 23, 2023

Chris Gabehart

Denny Hamlin

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by the winning driver and crew chief of today's race, Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart.

We'll go right to questions.

Q. It sounded like you defended your move on TV, but Larson was not happy, said that of all the times he's never had to apologize to you, you've had to apologize to him. Why wasn't your move dirty? How do you view it?

DENNY HAMLIN: That's not true. He's ran me off a bunch of road courses and called me and said sorry. I said, I'm going to stand my ground next time.

I'm not here to defend anything. I put both those guys, the 48 and 5, in an aero situation. Didn't touch either one. How can you wreck someone you don't touch?

They make a decision to either let off the gas and race side by side, or hit the gas and hit the wall. I mean, I put 'em to those decisions. I didn't overshoot the corner. I was behind. I tried to get position on him, knew it was going to be tight off of two, but always made sure I left a lane or more, more than a lane.

It's the same, these Next Gen cars, for whatever, you get in that spot near the car on the outside, it sends them very tight. It just tightens their aero balance. Everyone knows it. Kyle is one of the best aero blockers in our field.

I knew once he got the lead and it was green, there was no way I was going to go around him, so I backed off and just waited, tried not to burn up my shit for a restart later because he knows how to put you in a situation to just kill your car.

We waited. We pounced at the right time. He didn't get his right sides clean, drove in the corner just too far, let us get beside him. I thought we were going to race it out off of two. He got in the fence.

Q. Larson said he felt like it was kind of the same move you did to Chastain last year.

DENNY HAMLIN: Same move he made to Bubba. Did he mention that or no?

Q. No, he did not.

DENNY HAMLIN: Gotcha.

Q. Do you feel like you raced him with respect?

DENNY HAMLIN: We're racing for the win. Are you shitting me? For sure. I mean, if I'm going to give anyone the respect, it's Kyle Larson just because I respect him as a race car driver, and I think he's probably the best. Certainly he's got my respect. But, damn, I mean, we're all racing for a win. I guarantee you, roles reversed, it goes the same way.

Q. Denny, you were talking about the relationship between you and Kyle. You've had run-ins in the past. Does it affect anything...

DENNY HAMLIN: We really haven't. You're kind of blowing that up. That's not true. We've not had run-ins. I got in the back of him at Atlanta trying to push him. We're drafting. That was a draft gone bad.

Then once again we're racing for the win at Kansas, and he gets in the fence, comes off the fence, and I tag him in the left rear.

I mean, I get it. I know where you guys are trying to go with this, but I've been on the shit end of so many of these results. I am definitely, when it comes to getting 50 for me, 600 for Toyota, I'm going to make sure that I drive as hard as I possibly can, and respectful. That's why I left him more than a lane off of turn two.

Q. That said, when you hit those milestones today, you get out of the car and the crowd reaction is what it is...

DENNY HAMLIN: Did you hear intros or not?

Q. I didn't.

DENNY HAMLIN: I didn't do anything before the race.

Q. Fair enough. Now that you do have 50 wins, the significance of your 50 wins being at Pocono, has it set in yet? If so, what are the emotions you're feeling?

DENNY HAMLIN: No, I mean, stuff like this doesn't sit in for a while. Actually exchanged texts with Kenseth over the week. We were just reminiscing about old races. I told him, I was like, I was definitely filling him up about how great he was. He was a great teammate. The wins that he had. He was so underrated. I told him, I was like, That's one thing that we're always guilty of, is not appreciating it in the moment.

When you retire and you got a bunch of time, you're sitting there on your rocker on your back porch, you're thinking about, What have I accomplished, right, in the sport?

These things take a long time to sit in. They really do. We're in the heat of the moment now. I mean, I'm answering questions about whether what I did was fair or not. Gimme a break.

It takes time. I never thought I'd get an opportunity in the Cup Series. Luckily J.D. Gibbs took a chance and Joe Gibbs took a chance on me nearly 20 years ago. To get my 50th win, it comes down to the track that I got my first, it certainly is special.

Like I told you yesterday, I knew every weekend I go into it thinking, Man, this would be the perfect weekend for it, because there's always the right time to win.

But, I mean, there's just little things. My old car chief, Spider, that works at Joe Gibbs Racing, found in his old toolbox my grandmother's St. Christopher. I get in my car for practice, and it's sitting on my dash. I'm like, I hadn't seen that thing, I thought it was lost. My mom would put that in there before the race on the dash. I sat down and said, Well, we're winning this weekend.

Those things don't happen on accident, like... Just really happy to win it for the team, the whole team. Chris and his team on the pit box. The guys in the war room, the guys in the fab shop. I've been really lucky to be part of an organization that carried me for many years to many, many victories, like a lot.

Not everyone gets the opportunity to go from racing late models to racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in 18 months in the Cup Series. It's hard to do, it really is. But luckily they believed in me, gave me time to get going, and the rest is history.

Q. You also have a solo record for most wins at Pocono.

DENNY HAMLIN: At eight, right?

Q. Seven. Sorry. Eight it is. You earned it today.

DENNY HAMLIN: There's no tape on the car this time, that's for sure.

Q. Chris, I'll ask the same question. After what went down last year, how sweet is it to come back and get another win here?

CHRIS GABEHART: I'm a little afraid to talk because I know the car is not through tech yet, if you want to be honest about it. I figured that would be coming up after that question.

Seriously, though, really sweet. Win, lose or draw, it doesn't matter. The effort we put forth to get to this position, I don't know, it's Pocono magic. This group has magic at a lot of places, Kansas comes to mind. This track here, for some reason, there's so many different ways to win at it. We've found ways to do it.

Someone asked me earlier. I told them, as a purist, I can't think of a better NASCAR track than Pocono to win at because it literally takes every facet of the game: fast cars, fast drivers, aggressive driving, fuel mileage, strategy, aggressive restarts. It just takes it all.

I think that's one of the reasons that this team, with Denny leading it from the driver's seat, this team is very versatile. I'm so proud of it because we cover a lot of ground. There was no part in the race today where the strategy didn't make sense to us. Fortunately it all worked out.

Q. Denny, scoring Toyota's 600th win, what does that mean?

DENNY HAMLIN: It's special, for sure. I remember, getting I think their 100th Cup victory at Loudon, New Hampshire, a long, long time ago.

Milestones are always big. To have 600 wins across the three series, I mean, it's unmatched. What they do to invest in this sport from the grassroots to the Cup Series is unmatched. You can see it at your local dirt track. You can see it at your weekly racing series. They are all in on NASCAR.

To be part of that type of organization and that type of manufacturer certainly means a lot from my standpoint. I was nervous in 2008 when we switched over, right? We had a lot of success before that.

The Joe Gibbs Racing team thought that this was the best move for them. Obviously they made the right decision because there's no other manufacturer that performs on a per-car basis like they do.

Q. Chris, you and Denny have been together for a while. You know what he's capable of. Going into the second-to-last restart, you felt the need to come over the radio to motivate him. You had the numbers ready. You said to find a way to get it done. Those moments of finding something to say to him even though you know he can get the job done...

CHRIS GABEHART: I don't know. Denny doesn't like cheerleaders, he'll tell you that.

I think every now and then focus is required of anyone. I say that because these moments are so hard to get to. To even have an opportunity to compete for a win, let alone all those things we just mentioned, all those metrics, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

All of those things are never going to line up at once. So he's hot and sweaty and in that cocoon, focused on this vibration, getting these tires clean enough. I just wanted to get in his mind one moment and remind him this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, find a way to go get it.

If I spend every minute of my day in that manner, it's never going to mean something when I step up and say it that clearly because it's always level 10 cheerleading.

I just wanted to focus him on the moment and just remind him of how important the moment was.

Q. On the podcast last week you mentioned throughout your career you thought you were an average re-starter. Into the Larson deal, did you feel you were in the catbird seat?

DENNY HAMLIN: Not really. I hadn't got going. That's not true. There were a couple good restarts today. But the first turn had been a challenge throughout the day. I didn't think I was in a great spot honestly. But you just never know, right? Certainly anything can happen on the front row. I would rather my shot on the front row.

The critical moment was really right before turn one clearing the 19. That gave me the option to pull down on the 5. When I did, he sailed it way off in there. That gave me the opportunity, getting that crucial restart.

I didn't think I was in a great spot, but clearly he thought I was in a better spot.

Q. When Ryan spun out on the final lap, were you aware of that? Did they come over the radio? Were you surprised to see the white flag instead of the yellow flag?

DENNY HAMLIN: No. I mean, I think NASCAR has had a history, if it's kind of out of the way, someone gets going, especially on a track this big, they usually give it ample time to work itself out, then they check the racetrack to make sure there's no debris.

I did hear in turn three there was a spin. My spotter is always just constantly updating me on where the cars are behind me. He mentioned that there was a spin behind me, but that's all he says.

Q. Do you do anything to try to shift the boos back cheers? Does that really bother you?

DENNY HAMLIN: No.

Q. Are you embracing this villain role?

DENNY HAMLIN: I mean, I'm just too old to care. Had I gotten another 20 years ahead of me, I get it.

Fandom doesn't give me trophies. Fandom doesn't do the job for me. In my career, just had some pivotal moments getting into guys when they were super popular, I just kind of wasn't.

I'm okay with it because the fans are passionate about what they saw. I think if you were a Denny Hamlin fan, and there was that many, then maybe you'd hear the same thing.

I don't know. I never really resonated with fans for whatever reason. I got here on hard work, the old-fashioned way. I'm just not that likable, which is okay. I mean, I think I'm just not one of those good ol' boys, right?

I'm myself. I am. Try to treat people really well, do the right things, let the fans cheer for whoever they want. But as long as they're making some sort of noise, it's okay.

Q. Do you feel like you were a victim of circumstances battling Larson there at the end?

DENNY HAMLIN: I don't know what you mean.

Q. (No microphone.)

DENNY HAMLIN: I was racing for the win. I never said that Kyle did anything to me. We were just racing for the win. I think sometimes analysts' views, it depends on who's the character really. That's the truth in it.

It's very hard to be unbiased. It's so hard. But those were two guys racing for the win. Certainly roles reversed, it goes the exact same way.

THE MODERATOR: Chris, I know you got to get to tech. Congratulations on the big win.

CHRIS GABEHART: Thanks.

Q. You said you didn't touch the 48. The video showed that. What did happen from your perspective? Were you surprised he went around as quickly as he did? Several instances between the two of you over the course of the last month.

DENNY HAMLIN: Yeah, people need to know that I'm very honest with myself and I'm very honest with my competitors when I know that they made a mistake, and I try to tell them my side when I make a mistake. Alex came up to me after Atlanta, Man, God, sorry.

I'm like, Dude, it's no big deal. You got loose. I was just there, right? There was nothing that had to do with anything. It's just kind of circumstances.

When you race around each other a lot of weeks out of the year, you're going to have those things happen.

What happened in turn three, I got a really good run off of turn two. I was going to shoot low. When he saw I was going low, the move for that guy is to aero block. That is what Next Gen racing has become, is aero blocking. He tried to shoot down right in front of me and his car got loose. I was on the brakes trying to stay off him, but... It's unfortunate.

Q. You said you don't care what the fans think. Has there been any thought to lean into it, the villain role kind of like Kyle used to do or not?

DENNY HAMLIN: I mean, not really. I mean, I don't think anyone likes to be disliked. I don't know. I mean, no, I don't try to do anything to lean into it, for sure. I think it just kind of happens naturally, to be honest with you (smiling).

Some of the questionable incidents, like with the Chase thing, that stirs the things up, right? Me and Chase get together, we crash at Charlotte, it just fires the people right back up that, like, I'm a bad guy.

I just think that it's just part of it. I think fandom, it's a crazy thing, like it really is. I've noticed the further away they are, the more boos there are. When they're up close, they're actually very nice. I mean, they are. It's so different, like, walking out versus someone that's on the other side of a fence.

It reminds me of, like, social media. The further you can get from face-to-face interaction, the more hateful you can become. Kind of you just need to look at someone on social media when they're hateful, look at their posts. They're hateful to everyone. They're just an unhappy person.

I don't fault the fans for not liking me because there's people in sports that I don't like. I've never met 'em. I root for the other team. So when they root for the other team, and that team doesn't win, they think I'm responsible for that team not winning, you see the reactions that you do.

There's a lot that goes into it. I'm just happy that we came out of here with a stands packed, infield packed, campground absolutely full. This has just been a fabulous weekend at Pocono. I think Nick and his team have done a phenomenal job continuing to invest in this facility. Hopefully we continue to come back here every single year.

Q. I'm not trying to harp on this, but on TV they did feel like there was contact. Once you go back and look at the replay, if it turns out there's contact, does that change anything about how you felt about the incident? Is that still going for the win?

DENNY HAMLIN: Well, it's obviously still going for the win. We've seen the rules in going for a win.

Let's take this incident out. The rules of going for a win has changed in the last 10 years. You've been covering this sport for a really, really long time. Like, it's just different. People just, like, Well, it's what I had to do. That's what you hear, right? I didn't have to.

But I had to race hard for a win. Was I going to let off and give him all this extra room? Absolutely not. No way. I wanted to race side by side because I earned the spot of getting beside him.

I don't feel like there was any contact. I'm pretty confident in that. I could be wrong, though, because I'm on the other side of the car. At the time I didn't see his nose, and I was gassing up to try to clear him.

From what I saw, I ran up into the middle lane, and after that we ran really close to each other. He got in an aero tight situation that made his car take off. That was it.

But it's hard racing. Certainly nothing intentional. I think the best way to win 'em is duel it out side by side. That's how I thought we were going to come off of turn two.

Q. Kyle was very adamant in his TV interview that you guys are still obviously friends. His words, not mine. You race him like an asshole, but you're still friends. He can do a good job of separating the on-track and off-track stuff. How do you separate the on-track from the off-track in terms of when you're racing good buddies out there?

DENNY HAMLIN: I mean, I actually listen to Kyle's dirt racing podcasts. After Kansas I think he's one of the most levelheaded guys. He does a good job of separating. I feel like I do, as well. I feel like I can interact with anybody that I've had past incidents with or whatever it might be. Kyle does a really good job of staying levelheaded. I think he does separate them really well.

I can see from his perspective why he would say that. But in both circumstances, both drivers were racing for the win. I didn't deem either one of them dirty, certainly not Kansas where he got loose, bounced off the wall, we made contact. That's just unfortunate. That was very unfortunate. Same with today. When I'm in front of him, which I was in the middle of the corner, I can't see him. All I know is they said, He's on your corner.

At that point I'm in the middle of the racetrack. All I want to do is just leave him enough room to not hit the wall. That's my job, is to carry as much throttle as I possibly can, but leave the person, because I'm not clear, I need to leave him a lane to race in. And I did. Unfortunately, again, it's very different with this Next Gen car versus old car, the aero situation.

The fans at home will never understand it because you see it on TV but you don't understand how much the car takes off by itself. It did. It sucks because certainly I'd love to race him to the white flag, largely because I respect him so much.

So I do, I try to separate it as much as I can. Certainly if he feels as though he owes me one on the racetrack, then that's up for him to decide. I will distinguish that differently than our friendship off the racetrack.

What people don't understand is you actually kind of race your buddies harder than you race others. It's weird how it works out that way.

THE MODERATOR: Denny, everyone mentioned the 50 wins. That ties you for 13th with Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson. Good luck next week in Richmond.