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05/06/24 12:45:00
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05/06 12:36 CDT Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, the dominant NASCAR Cup Series
drivers, could have a blooming rivalry
Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, the dominant NASCAR Cup Series drivers, could
have a blooming rivalry
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) --- What is quickly becoming the best rivalry in NASCAR
evidently has at least one willing participant.
After Kyle Larson edged Chris Buescher at the line in the closest finish in
history Sunday night at Kansas Speedway, the 2021 Cup Series champion confessed
that he would have been OK finishing second, because their door-banging,
nose-to-nose finish --- the final margin was a mere hundredth of a second ---
was just so "frickin' awesome."
If it was Denny Hamlin, rather than Buescher, who beat the No. 5 car in a photo
finish? Well ...
"I'd have been pissed off," Larson admitted, "because I've finished second to
him so many times, and I would hate to probably hear, ?Oh, the Larson-Hamlin
finish,' or, ?Hamlin beat him again.' That would suck."
Six times Larson and Hamlin have finished 1-2 in a race, including the previous
week at Dover and last year at Kansas, when Hamlin bumped Larson into the wall
on the final lap to win. In fact, all six times, Hamlin has been the victor.
It almost came down to them again Sunday, too. They ran near the front all
race, and it was Hamlin who had the lead after Kyle Busch brought out a late
caution and the field cycled through pit stops. But on the restart, Larson
ducked low and caught Hamlin in the middle with Buescher on the outside, and
the No. 11 from Joe Gibbs Racing dropped backward like a rock.
"I needed to get a push from the 5," Hamlin said, "but I knew he wasn't going
to stay in line. He was going to go for the win."
Hamlin wound up finishing fifth, saying afterward: "Had a great view of the
finish."
Through the first dozen races of the Cup Series season, Larson and Hamlin have
emerged as the guys to beat.
Larson has led a series-best 633 laps and Hamlin is second at 606. Larson leads
in stage wins with six while Hamlin is second with three. Hamlin is tied for
the series lead with three trips to victory lane while Larson now has two.
Pick the statistic --- top-fives, where Larson has a series-leading six and
Hamlin has four --- and the story keeps playing out.
"It's important for sure to put together good runs every weekend, and I think
our team has done a phenomenal job of that," Larson said. "We've racked up a
ton of stage points compared to the field, which has been huge. Stage wins, as
well, which obviously helps. Then we've been finishing good, too. We've either
been top-five every race or something has happened where we finished just
around 20th. But those days last year I would have crashed or something, doing
something stupid."
As for their developing rivalry, Larson and Hamlin have a lot to live up to in
the pantheon of remarkable ones in NASCAR.
In the 1970s, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison feuded so fiercely and so often
that after a crash during the 1979 Daytona 500, the two jumped from their cars
and began throwing haymakers. Richard Petty and David Pearson at least kept
their rivalry on the track, though it was no less heated, and Tony Stewart and
Kurt Busch often clashed throughout the 2000s.
The last great rivalry, though, might have been Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon,
going fender-to-fender for wins seemingly every week. And that one ended in
tragedy nearly 25 years ago, when Earnhardt was killed in a crash during the
Daytona 500.
Both had passionate fans, just like Larson and Hamlin do. Both were part of
powerful teams, just like Hamlin and Larson are.
In fact, Larson has helped Hendrick Motorsports pile up six wins through the
first 12 races, with William Byron winning three times and Chase Elliott once.
Hamlin's three wins and another by Christopher Bell give Joe Gibbs Racing four
on the year.
All the rest of the Cup Series teams combined have just two.
"Really proud of what we're doing as a company, and what we're doing together,
and the consistency I think that we have across our four cars," Hendrick
Motorsports president Jeff Andrews said. "We know we have to work hard and
we've got to keep this going. We're still kind of in the early part of the
season, so to speak. But certainly proud of where we're at."
Lately, that's been with Larson somewhere close to the front of the field.
Usually, Hamlin is right there with him.
___
AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing
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