Yes, NASCAR drivers exchanging birdies, feuding, wrecking each other, and the rest is exciting to watch. But nothing can top the moment when two competitors show respect to each other. Such was the case between Richmond race winner Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick’s crew chief.

The Stewart Haas Racing driver finished in second after a failed pursuit to chase down the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the closing laps.

After the race, Rodney Childers, Harvick’s crew chief posted a tweet in which he showed his appreciation for not only his own team, but for the team that bested them on the day.

“Had a great car all weekend. @KevinHarvick and all the 4 team did a great job with preparation and executed all weekend. We gave it all we had and came up 1 spot short. Thank you @Mobil1 for the support this week Congrats to bud @CG1751 and the 11 boys. Love racing those guys,” Childers tweeted.

“Always a pleasure Rodney,” Denny Hamlin replied.

Kevin Harvick halted by the lapped cars in his pursuit of Denny Hamlin

In his post-race interview, Kevin Harvick reflected on the win that was almost in his sight if not for one, or rather, a few roadblocks. “Had a shot there at the end,” Harvick said.

“I wanted to be close enough with the white to just take a swipe at him. Yeah, the lapped cars there kind of got in the way and I lost a little bit of ground.”

Even the race winner wasn’t immune to the lapped cars problem, only he worked his way through them to the win while Harvick couldn’t.

“Once I kinda, looked at the gap from, had that I gained from eight to go to six to go, I was like, ‘We’re gonna catch’em’. I was a little worried with the lapped cars that were trying to stay on the lap and get the lap back,” Hamlin said.

“Overall, I knew I was racing the (No.) 4 for the most part and it was just a matter of time on the (No.) 24.”

Also Read: “36 weeks of the same is a bad formula for long term success” – Denny Hamlin Agrees With Brad Keselowski About Richmond Raceway