RFK Racing owner and driver Brad Keselowski is defending himself online after a late race incident involving himself, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar during Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway.
While Shane van Gisbergen ran away with Sunday’s race at Sonoma Raceway, the real focus of fan attention came in the points battle between Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin.
Entering the race, Hamlin sat just a few points behind Reddick for the points lead, something that, as of this spring, seemed extremely unlikely given the new formats built-in winner’s bonus and Reddick’s early dominance.
Still, the two would not slug it out on track Sunday afternoon; instead, they would tangle in a battle to survive, each with their own struggles.
For Hamlin, the first major blow to his afternoon came on Lap 64 when he wrecked after a shot from behind in turn seven.
At this point, Hamlin was running in seventh and having a mostly solid day, something Hamlin had not seen at Sonoma in some time.
Still, when he initially asked who wrecked him, Hamlin was told by his spotter that it was Carson Hocevar, which could be debated, as a long string of cars stacked up behind the No. 11.
On social media, the original view of the wreck led a handful of fans to suggest that Brad Keselowski, a fellow owner/driver, could be to blame, as his green-and-white No. 6 gave a clear shot to the rear of the No. 77 entering the turn.
In response to these posts, Keselowski joined the debate, sharing that, from his perspective, he took a shot of his own from Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman, saying he was “visibly getting pushed from behind.”
For his part, Brad had plenty of online support, as many pointed out that turn seven can be a pileup and that, at some point, someone in the field will draw the short straw.
Though Keselowski took heat for the wreck from parts of the NASCAR fanbase Sunday afternoon and into Monday, Denny Hamlin was the most frustrated of those involved at the time as he was ultimately relegated to a 26th-place finish, his second-worst finish of the season.
This also eliminated him from the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, where Hamlin, this season the second-seeded driver, again lost to Kaulig Racing underdog Ty Dillon in the first round for a second year in a row.
While it was another frustrating finish at Sonoma for Hamlin, it wasn’t all bad as he somehow still managed to win the points battle with Reddick after the No. 45 brought home a last-place finish.
Hamlin now leads the points by just one point with eight races left until the Chase.
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