Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson & Ross Chastain Set for Mouthwatering Battle, But Not in NASCAR Cup Series

Published 08/30/2022, 9:15 AM EDT

Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain are set to have one fierce battle at Darlington. Of course, all 3 are Playoff contenders, and they will all be battling now since the regular season is over and the fight to stay in the playoffs continues.

Although these three will kick off the epic battles of playoffs, the battle we are talking about will not take place in the Cup Series.

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The battle will happen in the Xfinity series!

Hamlin is set to drive the #18 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity series.

Denny Hamlin will drive the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in this weekend's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Hamlin finished in 12th place in his last Xfinity start at Darlington and will continue his tradition of one race per year. Read more below.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) August 29, 2022

Meanwhile, the 2021 Cup Series Champion, Larson will steer the #88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports’ Xfinity series ally, JR Motorsports.

Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 car for JR Motorsports in this weekend's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Larson's last start came at Watkins Glen International when he won the event.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) August 29, 2022

Moreover, the Watermelon Man will take the wheel of the No. 48 car for Big Machine Racing.

Ross Chastain will drive the No. 48 car for Big Machine Racing in this weekend's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Chastain is also expected to run the Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway as he should run a "couple of races" with the organization. More below.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) August 29, 2022

Seeing all competitors together, racing in the junior series is going to be really exciting!

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Considering Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain’s bitter history on the track, it could be quite fun to see them race. Moreover, Larson doesn’t seem thrilled about having to drive against the Watermelon man. Especially in the playoffs.

Kyle Larson talks about Ross Chastain’s list of enemies

Chastain sure has quite the reputation in the Cup Series. And far too many drivers are quite unhappy to see the #1 car on the track. Of course, Chase Elliott and Hamlin are the most obvious ones. But there’s more. Larson has something to say about the guy who smashes Watermelons when he wins.

Larson said, “Ross has like a two-page list of guys, it seems. It’s the Cup Series, we’ve seen in the past that people will make life tough on ya.”

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“When he does have issues with guys in the race, he still recovers from it. But, I feel like that can only last so long.”

He added, “I can’t imagine that with everybody that seems to be upset with him that it will be an easy playoff for him.”

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WATCH THIS STORY: Chase Elliott accused of deliberately sabotaging teammate Kyle Larson after bitter Fontana fallout

It seems Larson is also sympathizing with him. So, how do you think the playoffs will turn out for Ross?

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Written by:

Hetul Katyal is an F1 and NASCAR Writer at Essentially Sports. Currently pursuing his degree in Journalism from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. Hetul is a fan of Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch and hopes to see one of them drive to the Victory Lane.

Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh