“Pretty uncharacteristic”: Denny Hamlin reacts to Cole Custer’s “fu***ng clown” remark 

Denny Hamlin has reacted to Cole Custer's frustration from the Kansas race, as the latter was the victim of hard racing by rival Chandler Smith. The defending champion was 45 laps away from opening the playoffs with a potential win but Smith's #81 Toyota came in the way.

Hamlin recently wrapped his Round of 12 Cup Series race with an eight-place finish and will enter Talladega with an 11-point cushion. During his Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver touched upon some of the incidents that happened during the race weekend.

He reflected on Custer and Smith's incident and commented that the former was "uncharacteristic" when he lashed f-bomb at the latter. Hamlin said.

"I don't think he was upset with Chandler racing hard and they're certainly going for the win there. But it sound like Cole was agitated, he didn't cut very much room when he thought he was there," Hamlin said (at 2:25).

One among the podcast members reiterated Custer's remark, saying:

"You drove me like a f***ing clown."

"That's actually pretty uncharacteristic Cole. Usually, he's one of those guys, if he's complaining about someone driving, he's usually got a pretty high tolerance historically. So, I usually give him the benefit of doubt," Denny Hamlin said.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver and the #81 Toyota driver ferociously fought for the lead, but with 45 laps until the checkered flag dropped, Smith kept climbing to the outside, eating up room for Custer.

As a result, the #00 Ford kissed the outside wall and lost momentum. Nonetheless, the SHR driver regained the lead but finished second, behind Aric Almirola.

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Denny Hamlin believes Cole Custer and Chandler Smith could battle for the championship at Phoenix "if nothing crazy happens"

SHR's Custer and JGR's Smith are currently the championship contenders, holding the top spot in the playoffs. With two wins, 12 top-5s, and 19 top-10s, the former leads the Xfinity rankings. The latter also boasts two wins and 12 top-5s but has 17 top-10s, and is placed second.

Moreover, both rivals consecutively finished inside the top 5 in the last two face-offs, with Custer winning the regular season finale at Bristol. However, triumphing in a playoff race is lucrative as it guarantees a place in the next round.

Denny Hamlin feels the championship contenders could pave their way to the final race at Phoenix, provided nothing "crazy" happens. In the aforementioned podcast, the 54-time Cup Series race winner gave his thoughts on the two being in the final four. He said:

"I certainly feel as though they're going to be battling for the championship in the final four if nothing crazy happens. It seems like those guys got a good enough gap over the others to do that," Denny Hamlin said (3:42).

Cole Custer enjoys a 41-point buffer while Chandler Smith has a margin of 36 points over the cutline.