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Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin are two drivers who share a history in the NASCAR Cup Series. They find themselves to be in a privileged position to be fighting at the sharp end of the field with two of the biggest teams in the sport. Along with this privilege, though, comes the danger of sometimes running into each other.
Last weekend's inaugural Chicago City Street Race saw just that happen when Denny Hamlin got into the rear of Alex Bowman during the early stages of the race. The 220-mile event saw the #11 FedEx Toyota Camry TRD driver miss his braking point due to wet conditions. He then ran into the back of Bowman's Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
This caused the latter to spin out in Turn 11 of the street course. Alex Bowman elaborated on his thoughts on the incident this weekend ahead of the Quaker State 400. He said (via @BobPockrass):
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"He's just a hack, he's terrible. No, he just messed up and missed the corner and crashed into me just like I did to him at Martinsville. That corner was super wet. I talked to him yesterday, he just locked up and and missed the corner so that's just part of it, I'm not angry about it."
Both Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin have come together earlier at Martinsville Speedway during the 2021 Cup Series season, with spectacular results. On the receiving end of the bump back then, Hamlin was seen disrupting Bowman's victory celebrations at the track. He also went on to call him a 'hack' later on.
Denny Hamlin's take on incident with Alex Bowman in Chicago
Denny Hamlin also put forward his side of the story on what happened between him and Alex Bowman during the Grant Park 220 last Sunday. Elaborating on how he made a mistake and spun Bowman out unintentionally, Hamlin said in an interview with Bob Pockrass:
"I think he understood, there were some serious water issues there in turn 11 and I can't see that well when I'm right behind somebody so I was a touch to the right and in the water puddle."
Watch both drivers duke it out this weekend as NASCAR heads to a traditional oval this Sunday (July 9) for the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race goes live on the USA Network at 9:00 pm ET.
