Denny Hamlin has been at the center of debate since his late-race move on Bubba Wallace at Kansas Speedway ended with Chase Elliott taking the victory. The move has split opinions, but Kevin Harvick has publicly defended Hamlin, saying he did what any driver in his position would do.Hamlin had dominated most of the race. He led 159 laps, swept both stages, and even dealt with steering issues in the final 50 laps. Despite that, he still found himself chasing Wallace in NASCAR Overtime.On the last restart, Hamlin dived under Wallace in Turn 3, but the contact between the two slowed them both. Elliott, who had restarted in 10th, capitalized and stole the win by 0.069 seconds.The comments were made during Harvick Happy Hour on X. Harvick, admitted to knowing the pressure of being both a driver and team owner. He explained that Hamlin’s situation was tough, saying,"I’ve been in the position that Denny Hamlin is in currently, where you drive another team and you own cars, and it’s really, really difficult because if he doesn’t drive in there and try to win the race and do what he did, his team is gonna be mad.""And, when it worked out the way it did, the only rule that he broke is, one of you better win, and it took both teams out of the contention and it handed the gimme to Chase Elliott."Driving the No. 11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing while also owning 23XI Racing, Hamlin was racing against his own driver in Wallace. But when Hamlin went for the win and the move didn’t work, it not only cost him but also Wallace, clearing the way for Elliott to claim the checkered flag.The result was crushing for both Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace. A win would have locked either one into the Round of 8. Instead, Hamlin had to settle for second, while Wallace dropped further below the playoff cutline.“On Sunday, I am the driver”: Denny Hamlin makes his stance clearAfter the race, Denny Hamlin addressed the criticism directly. Speaking on his podcast Actions Detrimental, he rejected the idea of apologizing for the Kansas incident.“If they’re wanting an apology, they can turn off now,” Hamlin said.“On Sunday, I am the driver. People expect me to be the guy with the 23XI shirt on when I’m in the #11 car and that’s just not possible. Zero doubts in my mind, I was racing the #23 the same as I would race anybody in that moment.”Denny Hamlin stressed that his first responsibility is to Joe Gibbs Racing, not to his role as team co-owner. Hamlin said,“My responsibilities as a team owner comes Monday through Saturday,”“It is not up to me to get 23XI into the Round of 8. My responsibility is to get the #11 into the Round of 8. Joe (Gibbs) pays me a lot of money to make sure that car wins a championship.”The Kansas race was another near miss in Denny Hamlin’s career. He remains stuck at 59 wins, one short of tying Kevin Harvick on the all-time Cup Series list. Hamlin is also still looking for his first championship, despite being the longest-tenured driver without one in the current Cup field.