Martin Truex Jr ran into Denny Hamlin after the finish at Richmond Raceway in retaliation; The two have since talked
On Sunday, NASCAR raced at Richmond Raceway. The race ended in NASCAR overtime with a bit of drama.
On a pit stop just ahead of the overtime restart, Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 team took the lead from Martin Truex Jr on pit road.
Coming to the restart zone, Hamlin went a few feet early. Martin Truex Jr came on the radio immediately saying, “He went early.”
After jumping the restart, Hamlin went to victory lane.
Martin Truex Jr was seeing red after the checkered flag. He ran into the bumper of Hamlin, multiple times.
NASCAR has since stated that Hamlin did roll early coming to the restart zone. However, they have noted that the call could have gone either way and encouraged drivers not to push it.
NASCAR reacts to claims Denny Hamlin jumped the restart (Video)
Denny Hamlin jokes that he would do the right thing after jumping the restart
The day after the race was April Fools Day. And the race winner saw it as an opportunity to troll:
He stated via X, “After much consideration, talks with the team and dissecting the SMT data, it is clear that I jumped the start. Because of that, I’ve decided to do the right thing and… wish you a happy April Fools Day!”
On Tuesday, Hamlin returned with an update:
I sure wish someone would come out with a new paint scheme or something,” Hamlin added.
“Ain’t y’all tired of talking about the same thing for 48 hours now? Our team won the race because of the pit crew. Not the restart.”
He concluded, “Y’all just sour. GET OVER IT!”
Hamlin and Truex have talked after Richmond Raceway
Hamlin and Truex are teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. The two drivers have since talked about the incidents at Richmond.
“I texted him and said, ‘Am I missing something as to why you’re so upset?’ “
“I’ll paraphrase it for you. He says, ‘No, we’re all good. I just lost my mind.’ That’s all he said.”
“My response is, ‘rightfully so.’ He had the race won. But, surely that was a bad 5 minutes for him and the No. 19 team.”
Martin Truex Jr runs into Hamlin and Larson after Richmond (Video)
Links
Martin Truex Jr | Denny Hamlin | Kyle Larson | Richmond Raceway | NASCAR
