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Denny Hamlin Affirms Frenemy Kyle Larson’s Victory With Hesitant 8-Word Verdict

Published 05/07/2024, 1:38 PM EDT

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Recently, Denny Hamlin had a lot to say about the recent race in Kansas. The most historic race win in NASCAR’s history had all of us on our toes. The closest finish in NASCAR history was when Kyle Larson emerged victorious.

Hamlin might have finished P5 in the race, but his ‘frenemy’ Kyle Larson was declared a winner upon photographic review. However, Hamlin believes there is an optical illusion involved.

Denny Hamlin nullifies Larson’s win at Kansas

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Even though NASCAR officially declared Kyle Laron as the winner at Kansas, fans believe that it was the #17 car that won initially before the race result was reviewed. Not only fans, but Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin believed so and stated his verdict in eight words.

In his recent podcast episode, Actions Detrimental, he explained why he thinks the win is a bit controversial. Referring to the official image of the race finish, he said that Formula One aero experts were tweeting about Larson’s splitters looking a little ahead in the official photograph. But he quickly debunked that theory, stating all Cup Series have the same splitters.

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“if you look at that, does it look like the five’s front splitter is hanging out like a tongue? Sure, but I think that you can better see that there’s a little sliver of daylight between the 17 splitter and that line,” he noted. Hamlin believed that there’s an optical illusion and hesitantly explained his theory, which nullified Larson’s controversial win. “What I see here is the five’s nose, the actual tip of the nose, is crossing the black line. Again, he’s not wrong. It’s a little blurry, but it’s, it crosses that line and,” he declared, adding, “I see a little gap with the 17.”

Hamlin thinks NASCAR will benefit from the Kansas finish

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Talking about Larson Buescher’s finish at Kansas, Hamlin believes that such a historic finish is good for the sport despite coming at the cost of Buescher’s heartbreak. I love that we’re talking about this because it’s a great finish. It’s good for the sport. It’s good for everyone. It sucked for Chris Buescher. It sucked for me. Another race inside 10 laps to go I’m leading,” he said.

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Moreover, Hamlin also stated that NASCAR should upgrade their camera equipment to avoid any similar instances in the future, considering the spectacular finish, remarking, “I agree. Maybe we should upgrade the camera slightly. I mean, upgrade what, like, what do you want? And like, I think it’s,  I think you could have said too close to call.”

Denny Hamlin highlighted that the front of the splitter is a little blurred, and it would be a good time to upgrade the cameras. Do you agree with his take? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Sushmita Balakrishnan

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Sushmita Balakrishnan is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Her journey as a writer in the world of motorsports started right after she completed her undergrad in journalism. Since then, she has covered multiple stories for F1 and NASCAR, allowing her to establish her current expertise in covering race reports and breaking news to the fans.
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