Kyle Larson hoping for more respect from Denny Hamlin after Nashville showdown

Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin were involved in an incident at Nashville Superspeedway during Sunday's Ally 400. However, considering that it was not their first time exchanging blows on the track, the Hendrick Motorsports driver hoped that he could get more respect from Hamlin in the coming days.

Last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Hamlin had run Larson up the track. This week, it was the other way around. Reporter Andrew Kurland was curious if there was an actual rivalry between the two. Kyle Larson neither fully agreed nor disagreed.

"It comes and goes," the 2021 Cup Series champion said (via Kurland's X). "We race well together at times and there's times where I feel like he races me not the fairest and I'm sure he feels the same way so, it's not an ongoing rivalry but there's definitely weeks and stretches where it compiles."

Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin have had countless encounters on the racetrack. Be it last year at Kansas and Pocono or this year at the Gateway and Iowa, there are several instances where the two speedsters have found themselves racing each other hard.

"Hopefully, we can move on from it soon and gonna get a little bit of respect from him," Larson added.

While Hamlin finished 12th at Nashville, the Chevy star recorded a P8 finish. Larson is still the points leader while Denny Hamlin moved up a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 621 points to his name.

Denny Hamlin weighs in on his rivalry with Kyle Larson

Denny Hamlin does not consider his run-ins with Kyle Larson a longtime rivalry. The two are golf buddies outside the track. Last year, Hamlin gifted Larson a unique pair of Air Jordan sneakers from NBA legend Michael Jordan's Grove XXIII Golf Club.

In an older episode of Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin said there is no rivalry between him and Kyle Larson. Whatever they do on track stays on track.

"It’s not (a rivalry)," Hamlin explained as reported by On3. “I like Kyle and listen, just watch the race and we all do this to each other all the time. I don’t know why there’s an emphasis, is it because we’re upfront all the time? Maybe that’s it. It’s racing... get over it!"

Larson too reiterated Hamlin's words and said in the previous interview (via The Tennessean):

"He (Denny Hamlin) was just upset with the way I was racing him at the end of the second stage but it's racing."

The veteran racers will face off again next week in the Grant Park 165 on the Chicago road course in Illinois. The 75-lap event will air on NBC Sports and Peacock, with radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Tune in on Sunday, July 7, at 4:30 PM ET to catch the action live.