Denny Hamlin and Kyle Petty didn’t get around to meeting yesterday, but Hamlin is trying to smooth over their angry encounter last weekend at Dover, Del.
“No matter what you do, Kyle is going to be right… and a lot of what he did was right,” Hamlin said. “It’s tough. You never want to be involved in an incident, especially with Kyle, because he’s respected a lot like Mark Martin is in the garage. JournalNow.com
Petty removed the window net, yelled at Hamlin for a moment, then swatted down the visor on his helmet. After Petty walked off, a heated Hamlin hurriedly unbuckled himself and attempted to climb from the car and chase after him.
He was stopped by NASCAR officials and his crew, but he said later that Petty crossed the line, and he intimated that he would like to punch Petty in the face. With time to think about it, Hamlin had calmed down.
Petty said he has moved on and isn’t publicly discussing the incident. ‘‘That’s last week, and last week is history,’’ Petty said. ‘‘I’ve been doing this so long, everything is cool.’’ Beacon Journal, Ohio.com
Hamlin had a disagreement earlier this year with Tony Stewart, his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing. They criticized each other after Stewart bumped Hamlin and they wrecked in July at Daytona. Joe Gibbs spoke to both drivers about the incident.
“I have to figure out how to get through a season without altercations,” Hamlin said. “I expect more of myself and have expectations this year that I didn’t have last year [as a rookie]. That probably has caused me to do some things I normally wouldn’t do.”
Hamlin said the one thing he regrets about last week’s incident was jumping out of his car to try to go after Petty. ESPN.go.com
Hamlin isn’t known for being overly aggressive, but the Virginia native acknowledged that “my fuse is so short that if anybody does anything to me . . . I immediately want to jump on them. That part I got to get over.
“I’m not going to get back into whether it’s [Petty’s] fault or my fault, but it was a situation where I was put into a small box to try to avoid him, and I couldn’t get through it,” he said.
Petty, 47, “is someone that I really respect a lot regardless of any on-track incidents,” Hamlin said, noting that both drivers have children’s charities that work with each other.
“I’m trying my best to portray a good image, but I’m trying my best to be myself in the same breath,” Hamlin said. “It’s tough to have a personality, and show it to everyone, without being criticized. I’m just trying to find that balance on how I should be.” Jim Peltz, LATimes.com
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