“We’re going to let that go”: When Kyle Larson was told by crew chief to remain calm following ‘what the f*ck’ moment by Denny Hamlin

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson was bumped by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin in the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol race at Iowa Speedway. Following the incident, Larson was advised by his calm-headed crew chief Cliff Daniels to 'let that go' and focus on his race.

Kyle Larson started from pole position in the 17th round of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season at Iowa Speedway. Displaying impressive speed in his Hendrick Motorsports #5 Chevrolet, Larson was a dominant presence on the track. However, his momentum was disrupted when Denny Hamlin made contact with the back of Larson's car during a caution period, affecting Larson's balance

Following the incident, Kyle Larson's crew chief Cliff Daniels immediately stepped in to advise the HMS driver to maintain his cool. Here's a look at their team radio interaction.

"What the f*ck was that for? I know Denny's having a tough day but, what the f*ck," Larson reacted.

His crew chief then responded:

"We are going to let that go. That's what we're going to do. It was unfortunate, I don't understand it, but we're going to let it go. We have the fastest car in the field by a ridiculous amount. We're going to be P3 on the restart and we're going to keep our eyes forward," Daniels said.

While Daniels diffused the situation, Hamlin and Larson were further involved in an on-track incident on lap 219 that led to an untimely end of the race for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.

Former Cup Series champion Kyle Larson finished the 2024 Cup Series season in P6 after being eliminated from the round of 8 of the playoffs. In 35 race starts, Larson secured six race wins and 15 top-five finishes. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin also exited the playoffs after the round of 8, finishing the 2024 season with an overall P8.

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Denny Hamlin took blame for Kyle Larson incident at Iowa

Denny Hamlin, who pilots the #11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing took responsibility for the on-track incident at Iowa Speedway, which led to the end of the race for Kyle Larson.

Larson was three-wide with RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski and Trackhouse Racing's #99 driver Daniel Suarez. As they entered turn 4, Larson was nudged by Suarez's #99 Chevy which in turn sent Larson into the Wall. Hamlin, who was approaching from behind the three drivers had no option but to bump into the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Following the end of the race, Hamlin was interviewed by Fox Sports famed NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass, where he claimed responsibility for his actions.

"It was my mistake, I gassed up too soon and ran into the back of him. Luckily, everybody held onto it. I noticed that the #6 (Keselowski) was the one that was on the outside...he had like a quarter of a car from the wall because he was trying to press down the #5 and then the #5 had another quarter of a car to the 6 trying to press me down." Hamlin said.

"I am the one that made contact with the 5 and I take responsibility for that but I felt like they were lower than what I was expecting," he added.

Meanwhile, the Cup Series is set to return for the Clash at Bowman Gray on February 2nd. Catch the action on FOX, SiriusXM, and Motor Racing Network, at 8:00 PM Eastern time.