Sitting 67 points behind the Cup Series standings leader, Denny Hamlin’s championship chase is in full swing. While William Byron went on to grab his fourth title win of the season at Atlanta, Hamlin struggled to grab a top-10 spot, finishing 14th. Having spent a major part of the Quaker State 400 in the back, with Fords outpacing other cars with ease in the earlier part of the race, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver witnessed William Byron’s second stage tango with Corey LaJoie.

Now back in his studio with Jared Allen, Denny Hamlin, in a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, called out the Hendrick Motorsports star driver for going soft.

Denny Hamlin calls out Hendrick Motorsport driver’s soft attitude

During the Quaker State 400’s second stage, William Byron was penalized for a pit road safety violation. Forced to start from the back owing to his penalty, HMS’s #24 driver quickly got to work, making up for the lost spots. Disaster struck Byron once again when Corey LaJoie’s #7 Chevy made contact with the #24 car’s rear bumper. Losing control, the HMS star driver went spinning into the grass fields, even blowing out a tire. The spin-out even cost William Byron to drop a lap, but the HMS star quickly recovered from the setback. Fighting off A. J. Allmendinger and Daniel Suarez, Byron clinched the lead in the final stage, prompting NASCAR to hand him the winning title.

Although William Byron’s racing finesse was unmatched, his post-race interview didn’t sit well with Denny Hamlin. Speaking to Jared Allen on the podcast, Denny Hamlin pointed out how he had performed poorly at Atlanta saying, “I hate to say it, but it’s like if you’ve got a view of every wreck, you’re probably not running up front, you’re in the back. So all the wrecks happen in front of you.

“I had a good view of most of ‘em, didn’t really get into any (wrecks) except for Bowman when he got loose under me and we spun. I watched Corey (LaJoie) go up and clip William Byron,” the JGR #11 driver added.

Denny Hamlin then proceeded to call out William Byron as he felt the HMS star had gone soft on Corey LaJoie for wrecking him. Hamlin said, “And I heard William post-race, he was like, ‘Yeah that’s my fault’. I’m like, ‘What? Am I unwell?’”

Having called out William Byron for his post-wreck “soft” attitude, Hamlin too was one of the spun-out victims at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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Denny Hamlin’s chances of getting the lead got crushed by Alex Bowman

Watching William Byron spin out from a distance in stage two, Denny Hamlin would soon face the same fate. A few laps after Byron went spinning into the infield, Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman were side by side. Going three-wide momentarily, with Bowman on the inside and Hamlin gaining from the middle, the #48 got loose and spun into the #11 car’s rear quarter panel.

As a result, both Bowman and Hamlin were swept out into the infield. While Denny Hamlin expertly gained back control of his car after the massive slide, Alex Bowman wasn’t so lucky. Suffering from a flat right front tire, Bowman had to pit, losing multiple spots. Owing to the mishap, any hopes Hamlin had of grabbing the lead quickly fell apart. While Denny Hamlin finished in the 14th position, Alex Bowman could only manage a disappointing 26th-place finish.

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Ranking 6th on NASCAR’s 2023 Cup Series driver standings, will Denny Hamlin’s championship hopes finally turn into a reality?