The NASCAR Cup Series race at the Richmond Raceway saw one of the most dramatic finishes of the season as Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag in overtime. His teammate Martin Truex Jr looked set for the win, but a late Kyle Larson spin brought out the caution with just 2 laps to go, and things completely changed. The 2017 Cup Series champion and Larson had a moment after the restart, bumping each other close to the wall, but the Hendrick Motorsports star driver believes that Hamlin was at fault for that kind of reaction.

Kyle Larson says he was at the wrong place at the wrong time

Martin Truex Jr was as unhappy as he had been in a very long time, and he made his feelings clear when he bumped Denny Hamlin after he had taken the checkered flag. In the post-race interview, he said that he was upset about his teammate completely using him up.

“He (Truex) was mad that the #11 used him up on the restart. That’s where it really started. Then the #22 got to his inside one too, I got in behind the #22 and he just turned left, crossed my nose, and had me up on the apron at 2. I don’t know if he thought that I just piled it in there but then he door slammed me down the middle of the backstretch so I just figured in 3 and 4 I was getting used up a little bit. I think he just…he’s more mad at Denny but I was the closest one to take his anger out on,” the driver of the #5 car said.

Getting frustrated is just a part of life as a motorsports athlete at such a high level, and Kyle Larson understands that. Martin Truex Jr is one of the senior-most racers in the garage and one of the cleanest racers in the garage today. So the Hendrick Motorsports star has held no grudge against him, outlining the massive respect the 2017 champion commands.

Nothing but respect in the garage for Martin Truex Jr

Last year, the #19 team was quite disappointing in the playoffs, despite being one of the strongest in the regular season. The driver of the car must have wanted to make amends for that horrible run by winning a race at Richmond on Sunday. It is a shame that Martin Truex Jr did not win, and that’s why he was so frustrated. Kyle Larson understood that and said that there were no hard feelings on his part, no matter what happened.

“I haven’t seen a replay but I’m guessing the replay looks the way I kind of saw 1 and 2 and he will realise that and probably be alright. Martin’s probably the most respected guy in the garage area so I was surprised when he turned left on me down the backstretch even after the checkered flag. It’s all good. I hope he doesn’t have any hard feelings towards me cause I definitely don’t towards him. Like I said, I got a lot of respect for him,” the Hendrick Motorsports star added.

The next driver meeting at Joe Gibbs Racing sure will be an interesting one. Martin Truex Jr was properly angry at his teammate Denny Hamlin for using him up on that final line. It even seemed like he had jumped to the final restart. Regardless of what might have happened, team owner Joe Gibbs has a mighty task ahead of him to calm his two veteran stars down.

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