Denny Hamlin did not hold back in reacting to Kyle Busch’s run-in with John Hunter Nemechek at Texas Motor Speedway, calling the act “unacceptable” and offering how he would have handled the situation were he behind the wheel of the No. 8.
In their prior spat, former teammate Kyle Busch had thrown down the gauntlet to Denny Hamlin, urging him to switch cars and then weigh in on performance.
While no such swap has taken place, Hamlin has now laid out what he would have done had he been in the No. 8 car this past weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. But the backdrop to that remark was another flashpoint at Texas Motor Speedway.
Busch, looking to cap a run after spending most of the day inside the top ten, lined up 11th for the final restart with two fresh right-side tires.
When the field took the green, he failed to move forward in the scramble, and John Hunter Nemechek slipped past him as the pack crossed the line with three laps remaining.
One lap later, Busch fought back underneath Nemechek through Turns 1 and 2.
He nearly cleared the Legacy Motor Club driver for 12th on the corner exit before the two made contact. Busch struck the outside wall, taking damage, while Nemechek edged ahead entering Turn 3.
No. 8 RCR driver then appeared to jolt right, door slamming into Nemechek, sending his No. 42 into the wall. Busch went on to finish 20th, with Nemechek rolling down pit road to take 21st.
The aftermath spilled onto social media, where both drivers offered clashing accounts. Nemechek wrote on X, “Not freaking clear. Great day going, and just got wrecked. What an ass.”
Busch countered by sharing SMT data that appeared to show Nemechek drifting down the track.
Busch posted to X, “I did not start this. The 42 apparently doesn’t know where the RS (right side) of his car is and where he is in relation to the outside wall. There was 2 ft outside him, and I was judging my left side tires to the hash marks. Always know who you’re racing beside.”
The move drew criticism, but Hamlin chose a different tack, focusing on how Busch could have approached the situation from an aerodynamic standpoint.
Speaking on his podcast Actions Detrimental, Hamlin said the back and forth was “certainly unacceptable.”
Hamlin even offered up how he would have handled the scenario.
“From an aerodynamic standpoint, Kyle, you’re not going to want to be up close to the outside cars. The 42, being that he’s still outside, the spotter is still calling. He’s out there. He’s at your quarter panel. You don’t want to crowd him. That’s just going to dump air on your spoiler and make you go slower down the straightaway. If we were to switch cars, I would not have been running in the hash marks down the back straightaway. I would have pulled down to be in a better aerodynamic position.” — Denny Hamlin
Despite the contact, Busch avoided a penalty or even worse, a suspension.
NASCAR’s Vice President of Racing Communications, Mike Forde, said available data did not prove intent to wreck Nemechek, leaving open the possibility that damage played a role.
Forde confirmed that officials plan to address the matter with Busch and Richard Childress Racing leadership.
Forde said, “We do plan to have a discussion, Brad Moran and company, with Kyle and the rest of RCR leadership. As was pointed out several times also, this is the second time in the last four weeks where there’s been discussion post-race on whether or not he should have a penalty; first was Riley Herbst at Bristol.”
While no penalty followed, the mood in Charlotte suggests Busch is now walking a thin line.
“So maybe let’s not have to be having this conversation as often as we are, because the benefit of the doubt is running out pretty quickly. We’ll have that conversation with pertinent parties,” Forde added.
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