Denny Hamlin’s car crashed into Kyle Petty’s bumper. Then a furious Petty got in Hamlin’s face. Hamlin responded with verbal threats about wanting to fight.
With all the finger pointing and trash talking, it’s too bad Ric Flair didn’t stick around after his Busch Series appearance a day earlier to watch this skirmish.
Hamlin, one of the 12 Chase drivers, caught Petty from behind and they wrecked shortly past the midway point of Sunday’s 400-mile race at Dover International Speedway. Both cars went to the garage, but Hamlin stayed in his with his helmet on while his crew worked on repairs. CanadianPress
As Hamlin sat in his car waiting for his crew to repair the damage, an enraged Petty came over and pulled down his window net, then slapped at Hamlin’s helmet before walking away yelling and pointing at him. Hamlin was soon out of the car and headed toward Petty before crews separated them.
“You don’t come to my car, you don’t come to my pit, you meet me somewhere else and we’ll settle it. … I have the utmost respect for Kyle, but don’t lay your hands on my head. ... You smack me on the helmet and I’m going to punch you in the face, bottom line. So I’d like for him to call me some time this week.” Gary Graves, USA TODAY
Petty and Hamlin drove into the garage, and while Hamlin was sitting in his seat and his crew was working on his car, Petty came up and engaged in a finger-pointing conversation with Hamlin, which ended with Petty slapping down the visor on Hamlin’s helmet.
After Petty walked away, Hamlin took off his gloves and helmet, got out of his car and started after Petty, but a NASCAR official restrained him. Jim Utter, Charlotte Observer
Replays seemed to defend Petty’s claim that Hamlin appeared out of control. Hamlin’s crew chief, Mike Ford, told his driver a couple times before the accident to calm down, once telling his driver to think about the “big picture.”
Petty said he moved out of the way, but that wasn’t good enough.
“I watched the Busch race [Saturday] and I knew Denny was sick,” Petty said. “I just didn’t know he was hallucinating and needed three lanes to get up off the corners because he ran all over us.” Don Coble, The Times-Union
Petty said he was at full throttle and never let up.
“I was a lapped car,” he said. “I let the leader by and the second-place guy by and the third- and fourth-place guy. So when he comes up I was letting him by and he ran into the back of me. If [five] guys go by and one guy can’t, you figure it out.”
Petty said he never had problems with Hamlin before Sunday. ESPN
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