Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson had a race-winning car at Iowa, claims Denny Hamlin despite Ryan Blaney’s win

NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin believes that despite a lackluster finish in the Cup Series race in Iowa, Kyle Larson's No. 5 Chevy was one of the fastest cars on Sunday. Larson and Hamlin were involved in a collision in the Cup race, as Team Penske's Ryan Blaney raced to his first win of the season.

The NASCAR Cup Series at Iowa Speedway race took a significant turn on Sunday as Larson, Daniel Suárez, and Hamlin found themselves entangled in a three-car incident on the frontstretch.

Larson’s No. 5 Chevy went three-wide between Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford and Suárez’s No. 99 Chevy, leading to contact off Turn 4. The 2021 series champion skidded into the outside wall, collecting Hamlin’s approaching No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the process.

It was the reigning champion, Ryan Blaney, who eventually emerged victorious, claiming his first win of the campaign after 17 races. Denny Hamlin, who had to settle for a 24th-place finish, reflected on the incident with the HMS driver. While he didn’t fault Larson for the collision, Hamlin said Larson’s aggressive move was unnecessary.

Speaking on a recent episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin said (24:17):

"You heard him (Larson) say in his interviews, like you know, ‘I probably could’ve been more patient and not put myself three-wide middle there,’ but he’s trying you know, to get back to the front, as quick as possible."

“If you see a gap and an opening, usually you take it, because you don’t think about, ‘Well, this person is likely to mis-judge the corner and run into me.’ It’s just one of those things where, certainly the No. 5 team is banging their head up against the hauler door, because they clearly had one of the best, if not the best car, and got a bad finish out of it," Hamlin added (24:57).

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Denny Hamlin shares his perspective on Daniel Suarez's move on Kyle Larson in Iowa

Hamlin also suggested that Daniel Suárez’s move up the track contributed to the collision. He said:

"It was not good, for sure, but it looked like Suárez just moved up too high. He got into the left-rear of the No. 5, and you know, he was three-wide bottom, so usually, the responsibility is on you, to hold your car lower, at that point, and he didn’t, and got into the No. 5 and started it. (23:15)

According to Denny Hamlin, the collision had a significant impact on the race’s dynamics, especially on a short track like Iowa Speedway, where restarts often see cars going three and four-wide.

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson, who had started the race strong by winning the pole and leading 80 laps, eventually finished 34th, down by 36 laps. Before the incident, he had also claimed victory in Stage 2,