Denny Hamlin also got involved in the accident in the third stage with Kyle Larson. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion entered the first race at Iowa Speedway, Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, aiming to secure his first victory. The No:5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy driver had a good start to the week, securing the pole position and winning the second stage. However, his chances of winning the race were ruined when he was involved in an incident during the third stage involving and .
During a three-way battle in traffic, the No:99 Trackhouse Racing Chevy made contact with Kyle Larson, causing the No:5 car to spin. In the process, Larson also made contact with Hamlin’s No:11 Toyota, sending him into the wall. Larson’s car suffered significant damage and had to stop for repairs.
Although Larson’s team managed to get the car back on the track, they were two laps down and couldn’t recover. Larson finished in 34th place, ahead of Kyle Busch and AJ Allmendinger, who didn’t finish the race. Without the incident, Larson could have ended the day as the winner.
During the race, Larson and Hamlin had contact with each other, which led Larson to express his frustration on the team radio. Cliff Daniels, Larson’s team chief, advised him to let it go and focus on the fact that he had the fastest car.
The disappointing finish in New Hampshire cost Larson his points advantage over Hamlin in the championship standings. It will be interesting to see how Larson recovers from this setback in the upcoming races.
