The embodiment of on-track justice strikes again. This time, it’s Denny Hamlin who is the target of Kevin Harvick’s call for action. After securing his second Cup Series win of the year, Hamlin was elated. But it came against his two teammates from Joe Gibbs Racing, Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe.

On the final lap, either of the three could have walked away with the win, but Hamlin’s veteran experience came out, and he walked away with a narrow triumph. However, what he did on the final lap seemed to really be debated by everyone in NASCAR, and Kevin Harvick was even adamant about Christopher Bell putting his teammate in his place from time to time while racing on track.

Denny Hamlin bullied Christopher Bell at Nashville

With the Victory Lane in sight, both Hamlin and Bell were racing to secure a win. But the former used his experience and drove Bell hard on the corners. When asked if Harvick would let something like this happen to himself, the former NASCAR driver had a simple answer.

“I wouldn’t have been in that situation,” said Harvick on the Happy Hour podcast. “You just can’t let yourself get put in that position. But what choice did he have? Yeah. Right. Like they were side by side. I know Denny was working him up the hill, but you have to crowd him or something, trying to take his entry away.”

“If he’s going to race, he’s going to keep crowding you; you’re going to have to crowd him at a different point in order to try to put yourself in a better spot. But Denny didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t think that Bell did himself any favors in trying to be a little more physical.”

His co-hosts during the show were also interested in the ongoing situation during the races. Denny Hamlin, in particular, is the aggressor in all these situations, and other drivers generally let him have the better racing line.

As Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast continues, Mamba Smith lists down some examples of Hamlin’s in-race strategy.

He explains that, just like with Bell in Nashville, Hamlin slowly pushes a driver out of their favorable lines and captures it for himself. The other drivers try to avoid contact with him. Hamlin takes advantage of their hesitation and uses his cornering confidence to then overtake the drivers by pushing them off and compromising their racing lines.

Bell was aware of his shortcomings at Nashville. Still chasing his maiden win, it was all set up for him, but Hamlin showed his experience on the racetrack in the final four laps after the restart to take home his 62nd Cup Series win.

“I didn’t need anything. My car was amazing,” said Bell after the race. I had the right strategy, the right everything, and I did not win the race. I didn’t do a good job of driving, and I have no one to blame but myself.”

Restarts have been Hamlin’s Achilles Heel so far this season, and even the last. However, he seemed to have learned the lesson from what had happened in the past and just used his experience to come out on top against his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.

“I kept side drafting and tried driving in deep enough to clear [Bell], and I realized he was not going to let me clear him,” Hamlin said in his winning post-race press conference. “At that point, I knew we weren’t making optimal lap times, so I learned from my mistakes. On the final lap, I said I’m going to roll the bottom, and he’s probably going to drive in really deep, thinking that I’m going to drive in deep, but I’m going to switch it up on him and get a good run off instead. It was good enough to clear him.”

Hamlin’s second win of the season led to Mamba Smith also discussing how Hamlin’s philosophy of going all in without caring about wrecks makes him a threat to the other drivers trying to play it safe. Sitting in P2 in the driver standings currently, Hamlin has the kind of liberty that most other drivers don’t. It wouldn’t matter to Hamlin if the drivers behind him win a race and he gets zero points. But it will definitely be costly to his competitors, who are trying their best to earn a better finish in the Regular Season before the Chase starts.

And so, in the end, Denny Hamlin gets to have all the space he wants for himself while the other drivers pay the price with their on-track positions. Smith was quick to point out that Hamlin spares no one when it comes to this strategy.

Last year, he did something similar to Bubba Wallace and took advantage of him when he cost him a victory at Kansas.

Denny Hamlin’s ‘all in’ move against Bubba Wallace

Wallace was not very happy with Hamlin’s trickery and on-track antics. Due to Hamlin’s harsh dive, Wallace made contact with the No. 11 car and brushed into the wall. He lost a much-needed victory as Chase Elliott comfortably went past the duo to claim the win. Wallace angrily flipped off Hamlin and let his frustrations be known post-race.

“To even have a shot at the win with the way we started… we were not good. I really appreciate the team. Two years ago, I would say something dumb: [Hamlin] is a dumbass for that move, for sure. I don’t care if he’s my boss or not. But we were going for the win.”

Hamlin may not hold it against Wallace, but that move was indeed dirty on his part. Maybe he recognized the mistake and, as such, did not try to put Wallace down for the same. But his racing style did make something pretty clear. Denny Hamlin did not care who he was racing against. Whether it be his teammate or even his own driver as a team owner, Hamlin only thought about his own victory first.

So it’s no wonder that the only advice Mamba Smith has for drivers like Christopher Bell and others, who are regularly bullied by Denny Hamlin into giving up space on track, is, “If you want to beat 11, you’re going to have to beat him at his game at some point.”

And it is irrevocably true. For Hamlin to back down, he needs to be taught a lesson by another in a similar manner. If he gets a free rein on track, he will never stop taking advantage of other drivers.