Hamlin Unhappy – But Not Distracted – By Logano’s Aggressiveness

In the aftermath of a chaotic Drydene 400 at Dover International Speedway, Denny Hamlin appears determined to remain focused on championships, rather than controversy.

Late in the middle stage of Sunday’s race, defending Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano found himself in danger of being lapped by leader Hamlin. He raced hard – perhaps too hard – impeding the progress of both Hamlin and second-place driver Martin Truex, Jr., despite the fact that his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford was 24 laps down at the time.

Logano failed to take the green flag Sunday, after pulling to the garage with a broken rear axle during the pre-race pace laps. A lengthy repair ended any hopes of a Top-10 finish before they even began, leaving the Connecticut native to play a backmarker’s role for the remainder of the afternoon, salvaging whatever points he could, while hopefully staying out of the way of the lead-lap contenders.

He did a masterful job of collecting every available point, gaining a handful of spots in the second half of the event. He made no friends along the way, however, angering some of the same playoff contenders that he will have to deal with in the next few weeks as he attempts to defend his 2018 title.

“Here’s the situation,” explained Logano after Sunday’s 34^th-place finish. “There are four or five cars that I could possibly catch. That’s five points. I’m in (the playoffs) by zero points right now, so we’d better get them all. When you think of that, I’ve got to try to get every car I possibly can. I ran as hard as I could this whole race. I don’t have anything to show for it, but I ran it as if we were on the lead lap and did everything we possibly did to be better.”

Hamlin was critical of Logano after the race, saying the Team Penske driver raced the leaders far too aggressively for a driver 23 laps down.

“I’ve got to race,” said Logano afterward. “There’s four or five cars that I could possibly catch. That’s five points. I’m in (the playoffs) by zero points right now, so we’ve better get ’em all. I ran as hard as I could this whole race. I don’t have anything to show for it, but I ran it as if we were on the lead lap and did everything we possibly did to be better.”

Perhaps predictably, Hamlin was hearing none of it.

He called that explanation, “The most idiotic statement I’ve ever heard. It’s not your day, you had bad luck. I don’t understand that at all. That was a bad choice to say that he’s fighting for something. He’s not fighting for anything, he’s just running around the race track. Stay in one lane… get the laps over with. Get the race over with and go home and get ready for Talladega. All he did was piss some people off and what did he really gain? He didn’t gain anything.”

“Make up position? He’s 24 laps down,” said Hamlin, who started on the pole and led a race-high 218 laps. “We’re battling for the end of the stage. It’s not your day, you had bad luck. I get it. But why? I don’t understand that at all. That’s just a stupid statement by an idiot.

“I probably shouldn’t call Joey an idiot,” said Hamlin, measuring his words carefully. “He’s not an idiot. But that was just a bad choice to say that he’s fighting for something. He’s not fighting for anything, he’s just running around the race track. Stay in one lane. Maybe the high lane, because nobody’s up there. Get the laps over with. Get the race over with and go home and get ready for Talladega to try to win that race.”

“I get it. Everyone races hard,” added Hamlin, who enjoyed a sometimes-rocky relationship with Logano as Joe Gibbs Racing teammates early in their careers. “If you’re one lap down, I get it. Even two. Just not 24.

“All he did was piss some people off. And what did he really gain? He didn’t gain anything. He just pissed off some guys that he’s racing with now (for the championship). So now, we’re just going to race him extra hard, and for what? Because he didn’t want to go 26 laps down.”

Logano has never been known as a shrinking violet on the race track. He has never hesitated to employ the “bump and run” in pursuit of Victory Lane, and if Sunday’s incident with Hamlin balloons into a legitimate, late-season controversy, it will not be his first.

Hamlin, however, seems reluctant to dwell on Sunday’s situation, displaying a degree of big-picture focus that has sometimes evaded him in the past.

“Nobody’s going out there maliciously trying to screw over Joey,” he said. “I’m just saying that through these playoffs, you can’t make enemies. You’ve got to give and take. It’s those deposits and withdrawals that I talked about with (Kevin) Harvick earlier this year. You gotta be able to say thank you. Thanks for that spot. … I don’t want to hear, `It’s just racing.’

“That’s not smart. Being smart is a part of racing, too. Not just skill.”

Logano races hard. Every week, every lap, in every situation. It remains to be seen whether that “damn the torpedoes” philosophy will negatively impact his bid for a second consecutive MENCS championship.