Denny Hamlin intimated the contact between his car and Ty Gibbs’ was not intentional during Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I certainly did not want to spin out a teammate, if anyone,” Hamlin said. “But I was trying to get space to race and try to get by the [No.] 54 and got into him.”
Hamlin spun Gibbs on lap 110 after repeatedly trying to pass his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate. It came after frustration from Hamlin was heard over his team’s radio about how Gibbs was racing Hamlin, as well as Christopher Bell, as both drivers are competing in the Cup Series playoffs. A lap before the contact in Turn 1, Hamlin ran Gibbs wide in Turns 3 and 4.
“We made contact into [Turn] 1,” Hamlin said. “It was the fourth or fifth time that we made contact, but eventually he ended up getting spun.”
Gibbs fought off challenges from Bell which allowed Hamlin to enter the fray. The trio was running 11th, 12th and 13th on the racetrack.
“I witnessed the Christopher stuff,” Hamlin said. “The [No.] 54 got back clear of me and the [No.] 20 and we ran him right back down, and then couldn’t get any space to race once we were trying to pass. I don’t know what the whole formula is, but I’m sure Joe and those guys will figure it out.”
“I’ll let leadership quarterback it however they’d like to,” Hamlin also said. “Obviously us, the [No.] 19, the [No.] 20, are all trying to win a championship for their family. It’s crazy unfortunate why we’re racing the way we are.”
Joe Gibbs indicated he wasn’t going to get involved. Gibbs is both the car owner for Hamlin and Ty Gibbs, as well as the latter’s grandfather.
“Those guys are the ones driving the cars,” Gibbs said. “Those guys will get together on their own and figure it out.”
Hamlin passed Bell for 12th position, but was unable to pass Gibbs for the 11th position, and as such, lost 12th position back to Bell.
That is when the radio communication from Hamlin to his race team started to heat up.
Hamlin: “Does Ty know we’re racing for a championship? What the [expletive]?”
Hamlin: “This is some teammate [expletive].” (a few laps later)
Hamlin: “What the [expletive] is he doing?” (after the contact)
Chris Gayle: “Is the right front OK? That’s all I’m curious about right now.”
Hamlin: “Are they afraid to talk to him? That’s what I feel like. They’re just scared of him.”
Gibbs did not address the two questions NBC Sports asked him about the incident. He responded by focusing on the race next weekend at Kansas Speedway.
Hamlin said he is not worried about retaliation from Gibbs. The only comment Gibbs made over his team radio after the incident was, “Game on.”
“I made a mistake into Turn 1,” Hamlin said of whether he would have spun another driver in that same position. “I would have made a mistake with anybody in that position.”