"That's clearly Stewart Friesen's fault": Denny Hamlin backs Nick Sanchez in post-Truck race Bristol fight

Four-time Bristol Cup Series race winner Denny Hamlin has defended rival Nick Sanchez's maneuver in the Truck Series race, as the latter got in a postrace brawl with Halmar Friesen Racing driver.

The fourth dash on the 2024 NASCAR calendar, the 250-lap Weather Guard Truck Race, got wrapped up with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver Christian Eckes converting his pole start into a race win. The pursuit was followed by Kyle Busch, who triumphed in Stages 1 and 2 but fell shy of a solitary position in the Final Stage, coming home with a P2 finish.

However, for the Halmar Friesen Racing owner and driver Stewart Friesen, the Bristol run ended on a dismal note. The 40-year-old was running at P8 when, with only 32 laps left for the race to conclude, when rival Nick Sanchez tried to overtake the former from the outside of the high-banking oval, resulting in a wreck and bringing up the sixth caution of the race.

The contact ended Sanchez's run at P17, and the spun-out #52 Toyota of Friesen finished at P22. The robbed fate prompted the Canadian driver to indulge in a violent postrace exchange as he approached Sanchez and barraged him with his intimidating attitude.

However, according to Denny Hamlin, it was Friesen who was at fault and not Sanchez. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver gave his verdict on the 'Actions Detrimental' podcast, talking about the sixth caution as he conferred with the #2 Chevrolet driver, saying:

"When someone is running a higher line they're going to get a massive run off the corner, and if you're running the low line it's up to your spotter to tell you, 'Hey this person's you know they're running the top, coming with a big run, leave room.'"

Hamlin added:

"If you chose to shut that off then you're telling the top guy [Sanchez] you must hit the brakes or run in the back of me because I'm going to come on up. Nick already established that he was beside Stewart. As a driver, I'm thinking that's clearly Stewart Friesen's fault."

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Denny Hamlin reflects on his Bristol outing as he rakes in 2nd consecutive win

The NASCAR Food City 500 race saw Denny Hamlin's teammate Ty Gibbs sweeping both stages whereas the former secured P13 in Stage 1 and P7 in Stage 2. However, Gibbs couldn't maintain his supreme run for the entire race as the #11 Toyota paved the way to the victory lane.

Denny Hamlin's odds of triumphing the 500-lap run were slashed when he came into contact with the wall on lap 124. Nevertheless, the JGR driver rallied towards the checkered flag, swooping past his rivals and claiming his second consecutive title on the 0.533-mile asphalt.

Post his adrenaline-packed run, the Florida native reflected on his noteworthy performance as he spoke to Fox reporter Regan Smith (via X):

"That's what I grew up doing here on the short tracks, the whole mid-Atlantic- the South Boston, Martinsville, all those tracks. It's just what I grew up doing so once it became a tire management race, I liked our chances."