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Days After His Comments Triggered Denny Hamlin Penalty Calls, Alex Bowman Shows He Isn’t Like the JGR Driver

Published 07/06/2023, 10:26 AM EDT

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At Chicago, Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin battling for the top 10 positions on the 41st lap. Bowman was ahead of Hamlin and, at turn 11, Hamlin made contact with Bowman’s rear bumper. The HMS driver barely saved his car from hitting the outside wall after the spin.

It took a lot of time for Bowman to recover from the spin while he also lost multiple positions. To add insult to injury, his engine was not working as he was stuck at the exit of the pit road. Soon, the track official rushed towards the #48 Camaro with fire extinguishers and Bowman had to end his race as there was a fire under his hood.

After the race, Alex Bowman shared an Instagram story where he described his fine day turned into a mess. He said, “Quite sure it sounded like Denny shot just the brakes up, missed the corner and I helped him make the corner. But somehow, that whole change broke something in the engine or something was already going wrong.”

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Everyone still remembers how Denny raised his voice to suspend Bowman’s teammate Chase Elliott after the crash at Coca-Cola 600. Seeing the race and Bowman’s story, fans were waiting for the JGR driver’s suspension. But Alex Bowman showed real sportsmanship by showcasing how he is different from Denny Hamlin.

Alex Bowman Opens Up on Why He Won’t Ask NASCAR to Suspend Denny Hamlin

Following the suspension asks raised by Fans, Alex Bowman shut the talks down quickly. In a recent interview, Bowman was asked, “NASCAR should start penalizing over aggressive driving on road courses?”

To this, Bowman replied, “They [NASCAR] can’t That’s what the sport built on it. You see so many like honestly international crashes used as highlight reels, how you start penalizing people for it, In my opinion.”

“Should it happen? No. But that guy’s got to live with that, forever.”

He recalled the moment of the Martinsville 2021 playoff wreck between them, where Denny Hamlin raised his voice for suspension and blamed Alex for intentionally wrecking him. Bowman regrets that incident till today. “I’ll be the first to say, I unintentionally crashed Denny at Martinsville but it still bothers me that I crashed the guy for a win. That’s not how I race,” Alex Bowman admitted.

READ MORE: Denny Hamlin Uncharacteristically Sides With Former Hendrick Motorsports Rival’s “Oil Protection” Statement as He Details the Incident

Denny Hamlin’s Bold Words After 2021 Playoff Crash

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On October 31, 2021, during the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Martinsville Speedway, Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin made contact on the final lap of the race. The contact caused Hamlin to spin out, and Bowman went on to win the race.

Hamlin was furious after the race, and he parked his car in front of Bowman’s on the front stretch to block him from celebrating his victory. Bowman eventually drove around Hamlin, but Hamlin then hit and pushed the nose of Bowman’s car. He also flipped off Bowman.

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During the post-race interview, Hamlin called Bowman a “hack” and said that he “gets his a** kicked by his teammates every week.” However, Bowman denied that the contact was intentional, and he said that he was just racing hard.

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Watch This Story | NASCAR Fans Savagely Trash Denny Hamlin For Wrecking Himself At Sonoma

NASCAR officials reviewed the incident after the race, but they decided not to take any action against either driver.

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Written by:

Moinakhtar Akhunji

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Moinakhtar Akhunji is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. With a love for racing spanning almost a decade, he brings his passion and expertise to every article he writes. Growing up as an automobile enthusiast, he quickly developed a deep appreciation for the technical and competitive aspects of both F1 and NASCAR.
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Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh