Once teammates for Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin clearly do not see eye to eye anymore. While they are fighting at the opposite ends of the field, with Hamlin fighting for the top spots and Busch fighting for survival as the Chase approaches, they are currently battling with words.

It started after the Bristol race when Denny Hamlin used his podcast as a platform to shed light on Busch’s recent form, saying that Busch should carry the car better than his teammate. Busch’s reply came at Kansas through the microphone of Sirius XM, and he said Hamlin doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

As the numbers 9 and 10 on the all-time winners list fight it out off track, Kevin Harvick gave his take on his Happy Hour episode. “If I was Kyle, I would have taken them how Kyle took them. I’d have been p*****. I’d probably run him over on the race track at some point like we did at Dover way back when.”

Harvick recalled an incident from the 2010 race at Dover International Speedway, when he had a feud with Hamlin after a clash on track during practice that damaged both Hamlin’s JGR Toyota and Harvick’s RCR Chevrolet. In the pits, it wasn’t just the drivers but also members of both teams that got into action before NASCAR officials had to de-escalate the situation.

Harvick added, “I like both guys now. I like Denny Hamlin, and I like Kyle Busch. But, 2006, I probably would have smashed him.”

Harvick Appreciates Hamlin’s Balance, Calls for Busch to Step Up

Harvick said that Hamlin delivered a blunt and in-depth analysis of Busch’s situation and also said that, as Hamlin also mentioned, it won’t be easy for Busch to get wins unless he moves to a top team, adding that Busch winning is a very important thing for NASCAR and its fans.

Harvick added, “You have no idea where it is until you see Kyle in a competitive car. But right now, we’re going to see if Kyle’s leadership skills are still there to be the leader of RCR to help get the cars back to where they need to be.”

While he is now an analyst and a host of multiple podcasts, Harvick understands and appreciates what Hamlin is doing. The former RCR driver said, “I don’t think I’d have a podcast. That’s a tough balance (racing and podcasting), and Denny balances all these things, amongst all the things that he does, team ownership, podcast, and he can set them aside.”

Harvick said that it’s tough given that there are unnecessary consequences and pressure while balancing things the way Hamlin does, “He probably doesn’t need to deal with, but he chooses it. He has good opinions. He’s very relevant in the sport.”

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Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason