Denny Hamlin has had his fair share of dust-ups with other drivers over the years. Back in 2021, at Martinsville, the 54-time Cup Series tangled with Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman, ultimately resulting in the former calling the latter an "absolute hack".
The driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was battling side-by-side with the driver of the #48 HMS Chevrolet in the closing laps around the 0.5-mile short track. It was the next-to-last race of the season and the cut-off race to determine who would fight for a championship the next week at Phoenix.
Hamlin was in prime position to advance to the Championship 4 as he was 31 points above the cut-off. Bowman, meanwhile, had already been eliminated for the playoffs and was simply racing for the win. With seven laps to go, Bowman dove his Ally car underneath Hamlin's FedEx machine going into turn three. The two made contact, sending Hamlin spinning and into the outside wall.
The Chesterfield native promptly accelerated and resumed racing as the caution flag was displayed. Bowman, meanwhile, went on to register his fourth win of the 2021 season. Despite the crash, Hamlin still managed to have enough points to advance to the Championship 4.
As the Arizona native was set to celebrate his victory, Hamlin cut the former off at the start/finish line after the cool down lap. The race winner attempted to drive around him, but Hamlin proceeded to push his car up against Bowman's, rev his engine, and flip the latter off before finally driving away.
In his post-race interview with NBC Sports, the three-time Daytona 500 champion expressed his displeasure.
“He’s just a hack," Hamlin said. "He’s just an absolute hack. He gets his ass kicked by his teammates every week and just, he’s ******* terrible. He’s just terrible, and he sees one opportunity and he takes it."
On the other side, Bowman clarified that he wasn't intentionally trying to crash Hamlin as his car got loose underneath him, forcing the two to make contact. He explained:
"I’m not trying to drive underneath there and crash the guy. I got under him fair, under him clean. I just got sideways underneath him, spun him out. Hate to do that. Obviously unintentional. Part of short-track racing.”
Hamlin went on to finish third among the Championship 4 the next week. Bowman's teammate, Kyle Larson, won the race to secure his first Cup Series championship.
Denny Hamlin still in this season's playoffs, Alex Bowman is out.
Much like 2021, Denny Hamlin remains alive in the Cup Series playoffs as he advanced to the upcoming Round of 8, which begins Sunday at Las Vegas. Alex Bowman, however, originally made the eight-driver cut but was disqualified from last Sunday's race at the Charlotte Roval, pushing him below the cut-line.
Hamlin is seeking his first Cup Series championship in his 19th full-time season. He has three victories this year, which came at Bristol, Richmond, and Dover, respectively.
Bowman picked up a win this season at the Chicago Street Race. Despite scoring the most points of any playoff driver in the Round of 16, his championship hopes are over.
