North Wilkesboro’s return to competitive racing came with many expectations. But a handshake between two of NASCAR’s fiercest rivals wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card.

Joey Logano enjoyed a one-sided victory, leading a career-high 323 of the 450 laps, while his long-standing rival Denny Hamlin spent most of the race chasing him, finishing runner-up. After the race, in a rare show of sportsmanship, Hamlin and Logano shook hands over the pit wall and exchanged a few words, this time with a smile.

Many fans who witnessed that moment had one question pop up in their minds: Was that handshake the end of the long-standing rivalry between the two titans? Logano has a response to it.

In a recent chat with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Logano was asked how a moment like that becomes possible with someone he hasn’t always seen eye to eye with.

“I guess it's just time. You don't want to be a person who holds a grudge forever,” the No. 22 driver responded.

“We've always raced each other hard, and we've had our history in the past. But I feel like we've moved past a lot of that. We have a mutual respect for each other now.”

Logano and Hamlin's rivalry dates back to 2013, shortly after Logano left Joe Gibbs Racing for Team Penske. Their feud reached its peak at Auto Club Speedway that year when they made contact, and Hamlin suffered a back injury.

In 2019 at Martinsville, it was Hamlin’s turn to send him into the wall that cost Logano a shot to win. They both had a heated exchange and a physical altercation until their crews separated them.

But they both have come a long way since then, having matured in their driving as well as character.

“As a couple of veterans in the sport at this point, I think we understand how the racing goes, what we need to do, and it makes for a fun battle,” Logano added.

Logano’s point is simple. After years of driving, though competitively, you ultimately see the bigger picture where you want to “help grow the sport”. That’s what they are doing now.

Hamlin tips his hat to Logano

Hamlin was a happy man seeing his rival take the win on Sunday. He was truly impressed by Logano’s performance and only had words of praise for the Ford driver.

“Just wildly impressive,” Hamlin said, as reported by Motorbiscuit. “I thought it was a really impressive drive from him. Maneuvered through traffic really well. Did everything that we know Joey to do.”

It didn’t end there. Hamlin posted a picture of their viral handshake and wrote a cheeky caption, “That’s just short track racing 😆”

While North Wilkesboro was a much-needed breather for Logano, his uphill battle has just begun from here. Logano now sits in 15^th place, 49 points above the cutoff. The last two races have seen Team Penske winners, and they’d surely want to capitalize on this in the next race at Indianapolis, Team Penske’s home turf.

Meanwhile, Hamlin continues his smooth run and leads the standings, enjoying one of his best seasons so far. He is chased by his 23XI employee Tyler Reddick (-68) and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (-87).

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Suyashdeep Sason

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason