Denny Hamlin won the first stage of the STP 500, giving every indication he would be a strong contender to win Monday’s rescheduled NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway.
No hard feelings between Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick; just typical short-track racing at Martinsville
Hamlin and Harvick collided during Monday’s NASCAR race, an incident that damaged Hamlin’s car and cost him a better finish.
But Hamlin’s bid for a sixth win on his home track ended when contact with Kevin Harvick punctured a hole in the nose of Hamlin’s car, causing his engine to overheat. The incident occurred as both drivers were battling for a spot in the top five with less than 125 laps remaining, and replays of the run-in seem to indicate Harvick deliberately brake-checked to initiate the collision.
“No, he hit me a couple times and I was just trying to make sure I had my car under control,” Harvick said.
Harvick’s car didn’t receive any major damage and he was able to continue on and finish fifth. His Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Clint Bowyer, would win the race on the Virginia half-mile track.
Hamlin, however had to make multiple pit stops to fix the damage on his No. 11 Toyota. And on an afternoon where he led 111 laps early in the race, the best he could finish was 12th.
“(Harvick) just got to me and I think bumped me three or four times,” Hamlin said. “Then, I was just bumping him back and he brake-checked me. I probably shouldn’t have brake-checked him in the first place. They were just some light bumps here and then slammed on the brakes here. So classy.”
Despite the incident costing him a better finish, Hamlin wasn’t upset with Harvick afterward. He said these types of incidents are just a byproduct of racing on a small track where beating and banging is commonplace and tempers frequently flare.
“It’s short track racing,” Hamlin said. “No hard feelings, I’m not mad or anything. Definitely tore up our race car pretty good. When he bumps us, we just tried to keep our car under control.”
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