Denny Hamlin reveals a conversation had with Joey Logano following an incident in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at the Martinsville Speedway.
Midway through Stage 2, Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell were racing for position. Hamlin was occupying the outside line, while Bell was on the inside lane of the racetrack.
Logano approached them both and got a run to the inside of Bell, making for a tight squeeze heading into turn 1. Instead of giving up his position on the track, Logano ran into the back of Bell, sending the driver of the No. 20 into Hamlin and spinning both of them out.
Both JGR drivers were able to continue the race. Hamlin finished sixth, while Bell came home 10th.
Hamlin’s Conversation With Logano: ‘I Take Him at Face Value’
During the latest episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin revealed he talked to Logano following the race. The driver of the No. 11 questioned Logano as to why he felt the need to make that move that sent him and Bell spinning.
“I asked him. I said, ‘Hey, did you really feel like you had to jam it in there 3-wide?’ There was actually nobody behind us. We were the last cars on the racetrack because we had to take the wave-around from the Hocevar self-spin,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin recalls that Logano said he did not see him to the high side of Bell as they headed into the turn. Logano believed that Bell was trying to block him going into the corner and did not realize the situation.
While it was an unfortunate result for Hamlin, he understood where Logano was coming from.
“He said, ‘I’ll be honest with you. I thought the 20 (Bell) was just blocking me down the straightaway. I didn’t know he was on the inside of you.’ I looked at it and I’m like, ‘I can see where that can be a possibility.’ So, I just said, ‘Gotcha, I understand.’ I take him at face value on that,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin defended Logano’s move, saying that from his on-board view, his No. 11 Toyota was not visible. However, that did not take away from the fact that he was collected in the incident.
“If you look at his in-car, you can’t see me. It looks like Joey got a run off (turn 4) and it looks like, if I’m Joey, the 20 is just trying to block me and he’s like, ‘Well, [expletive] that.’ I was just the innocent guy that was there. That’s how I saw that incident,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin Clinging to Championship Hope at Homestead
It is going to take a miracle for Hamlin to win an elusive first NASCAR Cup Series championship this Sunday at Homestead.
The 45-year-old out of Chesterfield, Virginia ranks third in the points standings, 70 points behind leader Kyle Larson. If Larson is able to finish 28th or higher with no stage points, or earn eight stage points, he clinches the championship.
Hamlin, who will need a maximum points day (76), needs Larson to finish 32nd or worse at Homestead to win the championship.
It is a tall task, but stranger things have happened in NASCAR. However, Hamlin’s chances at winning his first Cup title in 2026 seem slim to none.
Denny Hamlin Reveals Conversation With Joey Logano After Martinsville Incident