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Denny Hamlin Reveals “Out-of-Options” Kyle Busch Took a Pay Cut to Leave JGR & Drops Rick Hendrick Truth Bomb

Published 03/01/2023, 5:35 AM EST

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Joe Gibbs Racing suffered, or perhaps is still suffering, a massive online beating down from Kyle Busch fans after their former driver won with his new team at Fontana. The fans are complaining and accusing JGR of mistreating the two-time Cup champion, of deliberately pushing him out, and, as per some claims, of sabotaging his races in 2022.

Of course, the truth is only known by those directly involved. But if Denny Hamlin is to be believed, there’s not much to it. Rather, the #11 driver insists that the fans look at what JGR did for Busch’s career and legacy. He also pointed out a dark page of Busch’s past.

Denny Hamlin insists Kyle Busch fans should be grateful to Joe Gibbs Racing

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In a recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin addressed Rowdy fans going all, “See we told ya!” to Joe Gibbs Racing after Busch’s win at Fontana.

“People have to understand that Joe Gibbs wanted to sign Kyle Busch,” Hamlin claimed. “They really tried, and they gave him a very, very good offer. But he did not want to take it and ended up taking probably a lot less because he had ran out of options at RCR.”

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He then touched upon the Hendrick chapter of Busch’s career as he described why his fans should be thankful to JGR.

“Listen, Rick Hendrick did not let go of Kyle Busch because he didn’t think he was talented, there was some baggage and he did some things that rubbed Mr. H wrong and they moved on,” Denny Hamlin described. “I think that Kyle Busch fans should be grateful of Joe Gibbs Racing. They got Kyle 50-some of his wins. They provided him with great equipment.”

via Imago

“But that relationship had just run its course, unfortunately.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Kyle Busch’s Highest-Paid Driver Status Questioned After M&Ms Quits NASCAR

Hamlin defends JGR further as he sheds light on Busch’s current state

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The veteran described how, when a driver is winning, everything becomes easy; how winning “covers up things”; and how, with a winning driver, teams “are willing to put up with a whole lot of other stuff.” Having said that, Denny Hamlin also claimed that when Busch wasn’t winning as much, nobody thought he isn’t who he used to be.

“We all know who he is,” Hamlin said.

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USA Today via Reuters

After this, Denny Hamlin shed some light on the two different sides of Kyle Busch, and which one he is right now.

“There’s two very different things like the ticked-off Kyle Busch, the one that’s kinda angry with people, he’s frustrated. And then the one that’s motivated, it’s two totally different guys when you really can see that on the racetrack,” he described. “I think he’s ultra-motivated right now.”

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“This is a reset for him and he is resetting with a team which is very good, as we’re seeing.”

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Written by:

Shaharyar

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Shaharyar is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Journalism from Amity University, he has been a passionate follower of motorsports for a better part of the decade. While Kyle Busch is always his first pick, he also considers Kyle Larson a legend in the making.
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Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal