Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Kyle Larson claims he 'respect the heck out of' Denny Hamlin’s talent

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Justin P Joy | Last updated 5/10/24

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin shares a unique bond in the NASCAR garage. They are close friends off the track and bitter enemies on the track. When they are not racing, the duo and their families spends a lot of time together. But on the track, both of them never hesitate to show aggression.

Recently following his historic 0.001 second win over Chris Beuscher, Kyle Larson was asked how he would have felt if he had lost the Denny Hamlin on Sunday. He answered that he would have been still happy to see that happening as the he respects the three times Daytona 500 winners’ talent a lot.

I think I respect the heck out of his talent, and, I think if I would have finished — say he won, and I finished second, I was still happy. Kyle Larson told Frontstretch.

Denny Hamlin also has a similar approach towards Kyle Larson as he has always been appreciative of the superior race craft of the HMS driver. The duo is going have to many duels this season as well as the coming years. So far Hamlin has gotten the best out of Larson in the races they have fought for wins on the final lap, but the No:5 Chevy driver has a lot of races left to change the score.

Kyle Larson admits he would have been super disappointed if Denny Hamlin beat him with a 0.001s margin

While addressing the question on how he would’ve felt he lost the race like Buescher did to Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson admitted that it would hurt a lot. He pointed out that as he has finished P2 behind Hamlin for a lot of races (6) it would “su*K” to add another to the list.

But say, me and Denny had come down to the finish like that and he edges me out by a thousandth, I’d have been pi**ed off just because I’ve finished second to him so many times, and I would hate to probably — oh, the Larson-Hamlin finish or Hamlin beat him again. That would su*k. Kyle Larson said.

With the 2024 season so far becoming a battle between Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, the battle between the two is inevitable. Most probably the duo will have their lats dual of the season in the finale at Phoenix and it would be an eventful race to watch for the fans.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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