Denny Hamlin responds to being called a ‘Hack’ by Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney calls Denny Hamlin a hack

“He tried to slide me two or three times and failed miserably,” Blaney said after the race.

“And then just decided to use me up. if you’re going to slide somebody, slide somebody and commit. Don’t halfway do it and use me up.”

“What did he say? Hack? I think he was that today. Yeah.”

Miami Results: October 22, 2023 (NASCAR Cup Series)

Denny Hamlin responds to being called a hack

“Next thing you know, we’re just grinding on each other, side by side,” Denny Hamlin stated of the incident with Ryan Blaney.

“Just can’t get clear of each other.”

Blaney called it a ‘hack’ move. However, Hamlin doesn’t see it that way.

“No it was not.”

“By the way, for the final four of a championship battle. It’s just interesting. Depending on who’s involved, like, I don’t understand.”

Fans invaded Hamlin’s mentions with statement like, “Why are you racing Blaney so hard?”

Hamlin responds, “What are you talking about? I’m trying to make it to the final four!”

“Needless to say, I took the inside, I didn’t get clear of Blaney and we went through 1 and 2 really tight,” Hamlin said. “He was down the race track and I was on the bottom. He’s trying to hold me down and keep me from clearing. We’re doing nothing but stalling each other out — through the corner, down the straight, all we’re doing is dragging our cars.

“I’m inching ahead and he’s inching ahead. All that’s doing is dumping air on both of our spoilers and we’re going absolutely nowhere.”

Alex Bowman brilliantly embraces ‘HACK’ comments from Denny Hamlin

They both got passed

Meanwhile, Bell picked up a run on both of them and went on to win the race.

“It looks like he hits nitrous,” Hamlin said.

“I see the run the 20 gets, and I’m thinking I can’t block it, he’s coming in too fast so my best bet is to go into Turn 3 through the middle. My goal was to hit the middle because I have one to the inside, one on the outside, so I’m going to drive in as deep as I possibly can to make the corner without crashing and that’s what I do.”

“I drive in at least three lanes deeper, maybe more than what I had all day long. Blaney has the same mindset and he’s thinking the same thing.”

“I’m on the outside so I’m going to drive in way deeper and me and him are so close to each other that we’re thinking ‘I’m not lifting until the other does, and that whoever goes the deepest is going to end up on the better end of this and then gets to battle with Bell side by side into Turn 4.’ “

“We both barrel it off in there and next thing you know he’s right there on the right side and I’m thinking, surely as deep as I drove in, I’m going to have all this track to work with and I don’t because he drives in deep and we’re door to door.”

No contact

Hamlin is famous for saying there was no contact between himself and Kyle Larson in an accident earlier this year.

Denny Hamlin crashes Kyle Larson to win Pocono (Video)

“And no people, there was no contact,” Hamlin added.

“There was no contact. Blaney will admit that as well. There was no contact but we were really close to each other.”

“We just drug each other down. Again, everything that happened through 1 and 2 and the backstretch was just running so close side-by-side so here comes the 24 and we’re three-wide again.”

“At that point, we’re just slowing each other down. I’m up the race track in Blaney’s lane in 4 and I’m not leaving him much room. I left him a car width and a quarter but he surely expected to have more room up there. I tried, again, to hit the middle but drove in so deep that I washed up the track and he’s to the outside of me so that is making me even tighter.

“Next thing you know, we’re grinding on each other and can’t get clear of each other.”

Links

Denny Hamlin | Ryan Blaney | Homestead-Miami Speedway | NASCAR