Petty and Hamlin both angry after Dover altercation
Quote selected text Published September 23rd, 2007 in NASCAR News
Kyle Petty was not happy with Denny Hamlin following their crash in Sunday’s Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway.
Hamlin tagged the rear of Petty’s lapped machine, causing Petty to crash 200 laps into the event. Hamlin went on to crash as well. As both drivers pulled into the Nextel Cup garage for repairs, Petty walked over and yanked on Hamlin’s window net and lectured him.
Perhaps it was best Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin never stood toe-to-toe.
Given the chance, Hamlin said their altercation in the garage area during Sunday’s Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway could have escalated into much more.
“Don’t smack me in the helmet. You smack me in the helmet I’m going to punch you in the face,” Hamlin said following the race. “I’d like for him to call me sometime this week before next race.
“You don’t come to my car. You don’t come to my pit. You meet me someplace else and we’ll settle it. I have the utmost respect for Kyle, but don’t lay your hands on my head. I did not say one thing to him. He chose to slap my helmet. I have a short fuse. Don’t do that.”
On Lap 204 of 400, Hamlin appeared to come up and catch Petty as he was moving down the track. Hamlin’s front bumper plowed into the rear of Petty’s No. 45 Dodge and the two also collected Clint Bowyer in the incident.
Both Petty and Hamlin drove into the garage and while Hamlin was sitting in his seat and his crew working on his car, Petty came up and engaged in a finger-pointing conversation with Hamlin, which ended with Petty slapping the visor down on Hamlin’s helmet.
After Petty walked away, Hamlin took off his gloves and helmet, got out of his car and started to take off after Petty, but a NASCAR official restrained him.
“I guess it’s my fault. I watched the Busch race yesterday and I knew Denny was sick, but I just didn’t know he was hallucinating and needed three lanes to get up off the corner because he ran all over us,” Petty said after the incident.
“I guess he is in a race by himself. I just told him he was in the Chase and I’m not. It’s a shame that a guy with that much talent has to drive like that. We’ve seen it a lot. We’ve seen it all year long. Even his teammate, Tony Stewart, talked about it.”
Hamlin said it was incumbent on Petty, then a lapped car, to make way for lead-lap cars.
“I firmly believe in my heart that he was trying to get out of way,” he said. “We’re in a clutter of leaders and he is racing his own little battle. Some days it’s your day and some days it’s not – just get out the way.”
Bookmark to:
- Hamlin says he needs to ‘grow up’ after Petty altercation
- Video: Denny Hamlin and Kyle Petty altercation at Dover
- Petty escapes penalty for Hamlin incident
- Dover race falls well short of sellout
- Stewart fined for altercation and team given probation
“Don’t smack me in the helmet. You smack me in the helmet I’m going to punch you in the face,” Hamlin said following the race.
CLASSIC! lol
I was pretty surprised at how immature Kyle Petty’s comments about Denny were.
Kyle needed this.
As for what happened today, I think Tony Stewart should be the one picking his teeth out of a stool.
Kyle Petty is a half-rate racecar driver (at best). Hard to believe that someone allegedly so mature and a veteran could whine worse that Kyle Busch ever could dream of! He’d probably be a great team manager or something, but he has survived as a driver only because of his last name. What Kyle needed was for Denny to punch him in back of the head right in that stupid ponytail!
I have all the respect in the world for Kyle, but I think he was a little out of line, at least for this day and age in NASCAR. However, I don’t blame him for being mad. But again, he did act out a little immaturely. He honestly had no reason to be so angry with Denny, it was merely an accident, a racing incident. Now, at the same time, I really don’t remember them showing any good replays of what happened, they didn’t have a good angle from behind or anything, so you really couldn’t see what exactly happened to cause Denny to hit Kyle. It could have been on purpose, it could have been a complete accident (got loose or whatever), or it could have been a mixture of both, you never know, we didn’t really see a good replay. All we have to go on is what the two of them say.
KYLE SHOULD GO HOME AND LET PATTY SPANK HIM FOR BEING A BAD BOY!!
Kyle hasn’t won a race since what, 1995? He should’ve taken a different career path. If Babe Ruth was my father, I don’t think a baseball career would’ve been my top choice. The King IS the Babe Ruth of NASCAR. Kyle is a court jester, not a prince. Kyle doesn’t do squat and hasn’t for years. It kills me when Petty Enterprises glows after Kyle gets a top 20 finish. Kyle is in a ton of wrecks and crap because he has been a perennial backmarker for at least 10 years now. He should get out of the car and give someone else a chance. He isn’t a stupid man, just a desperate one. And we all know what desperate people do. He’s done a lot off the track. He’s also lost a son to the sport. This is the only life he knows. Sure those paychecks look nice Kyle, but you’re stinking up the place. I’m sure if Denny wrote Kyle a big check, cash whore Kyle would forgive him. He forgives everyone that writes those big checks. Don’t give in Denny. Kyle is just a frustrated has been/ never was that lived off the family name. You have earned everything on your own Denny. I think Kyle might be a little jealous.