Denny Hamlin faces boos from NASCAR fans during Pocono win, irks Kyle Larson over move
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Denny Hamlin picked up a record seventh victory at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon at the HighPoint.com 400, but his celebration in Victory Lane came at the expense of Kyle Larson.
Hamlin and Larson were racing hard with a few laps left. In Turn 1, Hamlin appeared to be carrying Larson with him up the racetrack. The No. 5’s momentum appeared to carry him into the wall. Larson retaliated down the front stretch by pushing Hamlin into the wall as the race went to caution.
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Denny Hamlin celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, July 23, 2023, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Larson fell all the way to 20th by the end of the race. As Hamlin came to the start-finish line to celebrate the win, NASCAR fans booed him.
"I love it," Hamlin said. "They can boo my rock out of here in a few years."
Of the incident with Larson, Hamlin said he never touched him.
"I'm not here to defend anything," he said. "How can you wreck someone you don't touch?"
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Kyle Larson, #5, rubs fenders with Denny Hamlin, #11, under caution during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, July 23, 2023, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Larson expressed his frustration with the No. 11 driver after the race.
"I’ve never had to apologize to him about anything, anything I’ve done on the racetrack," Larson said. "I can count four or five times where he’s had to reach out to me, ‘Oh, man, I’m sorry I put you in a