Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. Years later, the two popular NASCAR drivers have found themselves in the spotlight after Hamlin made comments about Busch’s recent drought on the racing track. As Busch throws an open challenge, Hamlin stands by his statement.

It all started with Hamlin asking Busch's fans not to have high expectations from him. After all, he tasted his last win in June 2023. Then came Busch's reply.

“If Denny wants to switch cars, I’ll switch cars with him any day of the week, any time. I would love for him to show me that he can carry it better than I can,” he kept things sharp.

Following the comments made by the #8 driver, Hamlin took to his X account to respond to the comments.

“Not really sure what I’m supposed to do. I host a podcast and I have to answer questions about relevant topics.  Should I just say I dunno, everything seems fine to me? Not sure where he felt I “bashed”. Im walking a d*** tight rope here,” he wrote, resharing Busch's interview.

Busch might have two Cup Series championship feathers in his hat, 2015 and 2019. But he is now stuck in the longest winless stretch of his career and has missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

For a driver who ranks ninth all-time with 63 wins, it’s a surprising slump that few would have expected. The comments from Hamlin came in while discussing Busch’s future at Richard Childress Racing.

His contract will lapse at the end of the season. Now that he has gone over 100 races without driving into the victory lane despite all the strategic changes made, the extension is now doubtful.

Denny Hamlin speaks about Kyle Busch's Struggle in the Next Gen era

On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin spoke about how Busch should be pushing himself more.

“We keep talking about this but the last couple of years at GIbbs things were not good," he did not mince his words. "It’s been like this for five years. You’re a Hall of Fame Mount Rushmore driver, and if you’re of the greatest, then carry better than your teammate that’s only won 10 races. I think he should be able to do." 

So, Hamlin stirred Busch's pot by comparing his results to those of teammate Austin Dillon.

To put into context what the Joe Gibbs Racing driver mentioned, Austin Dillon, Busch’s teammate, who has less experience, has outperformed him in the same machinery.

Leading 107 laps, Dillon claimed the win by 2.471 seconds over Alex Bowman, whereas Kyle Busch has yet to end his winless streak.

Share your thoughts on the Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch tussle.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar