Following a chaotic post-race brawl from the NASCAR Cup Series race last Saturday at Bristol, Denny Hamlin landed the podcast guest of the week. Ryan Blaney appeared on “Actions Detrimental” on Monday, breaking his silence on his fight with Carson Hocevar.
Days removed from the podcast, Hamlin admits he had nerves going into it as he expected the interview to make huge headlines. Overall, the driver of the No. 11 felt it was a success for both his podcast and for Blaney’s interests.
Hamlin on Blaney’s podcast appearance: ‘I was truthfully pretty nervous’
Hamlin would be the first to tell you he is not the greatest interviewer.
However, the 45-year-old believes he has conducted solid interviews in the past, noting that when Kyle Busch appeared on “Actions Detrimental” last year, it made for a great conversation.
“Interviewing is not my strong suit whatsoever. I feel like I’ve had really good ones where me and Kyle [Busch] just get in there and we’re just talking. That’s some of the most entertaining stuff,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin knows enough, however, that he had to steer the interview with Blaney a certain way in order to get the driver of the No. 12 to open up about what happened with Carson Hocevar last Saturday at Bristol.
Hamlin was honest in saying he was nervous going into the interview because he recognized how important it was given the events of last Saturday night.
“I knew there was an obligation to ask him and send him certain directions to see where he would respond and so I thought that it was really good. I was truthfully pretty nervous about it because I knew it was a big deal,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin felt podcast was ‘very smart’ for Blaney
There were so many questions ready to be asked to Blaney after he and Hocevar came to blows on pit road at Bristol. Yet, the Team Penske star ultimately answered every question needed to be asked on Hamlin’s podcast.
Hamlin felt it was the right move for Blaney and Team Penske to address the fight as soon as possible, noting that the media snowball would build increasingly heading into Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.
“I think that was good on Ryan and Penske’s part to get ahead of things because, ultimately, media in general, they’ll be a narrative created. They’re not creating it, it just happens and then they run with those storylines. Those can go all week long and I think that it was very smart of them to jump on the first one that they could to essentially get his story and side out,” Hamlin said.
Blaney was upfront about everything that unfolded at Bristol and expressed regret for things that happened. Hamlin praised Blaney for the way he presented himself and believes the podcast showed him in a positive light in the aftermath of the chaos.
“I thought overall, it was a very positive thing for him. It showed lots of humility on his side,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin will roll off sixth for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, while Blaney will start 25th. Qualifying was canceled on Saturday due to rain and the lineup was set by the metric.
‘Truthfully Pretty Nervous’: Denny Hamlin Reflects on Ryan Blaney Podcast Appearance