Hamlin's passion shines through on the track
By seeking payback, Hamlin, others prove how much racing means to them
 Todd Warshaw / Getty Images for NASCAR Just as he had promised, Denny Hamlin spun out Brad Keselowski in the final Nationwide race in retaliation for previous clashes. |
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What a great way for Denny Hamlin to end his season.
I'm not talking about Denny getting his fourth win of the year—tying him for third-most in the Cup Series—in the 2009 finale at Homestead. I'm not talking about his moving up to fifth in the final points standings despite three DNFs in the Chase. I'm talking about living up to his promise to pay back Brad Keselowski in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday. He spun the 88 around -- rather gently, I thought -- on the frontstretch. A lot of fans tuned in to see "The Big Payback," and Denny didn't disappoint.
Afterward, Hamlin didn't exactly express remorse, telling our buddy Jeff Gluck of SceneDaily.com, among others, "I feel great right now," despite NASCAR imposing a one-lap penalty for the move. He also made it clear that it wasn't just Keselowski's actions that prompted retaliation: "What I've said with Brad is all he had to say is that he was sorry – be remorseful, say you made a mistake. That's all you've got to do – say you made a mistake, and we're even."
Those sentiments were echoed by the notoriously thoughtful Jeff Burton, who said, "When you constantly get spun out by the same car, there comes a time where you've got to put your foot down and not take it," and then added, "It should never get that far. You should be able to sit back and have a conversation."
But despite more provocative words following the event (Keselowski: Hamlin has "a lot of problems on and off the racetrack." Hamlin: "It's tough to have a rivalry with a mid-pack driver."), it seems like Keselowski, who clearly is smart, understands that it's not really worth having an ongoing feud with Hamlin: "I don't hold any grudges and I'm ready to move on."
On Sunday we got another dose of payback, between Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart. After getting a big run off the corner, Juan hit Tony in the rear. Smoke gave him a pretty typical "Hey, I'm here!" body slam immediately afterward, but in the process JP's tire went down, so after spending 28 laps in the garage, the 42 paid back the 14.
Payback equals passion, which is why we love to see it on the racetrack, but it also has a very practical purpose: setting boundaries. If you let people take cheap shots with impunity, they'll keep taking them. If, on the other hand, their head hurts whenever they take a cheap shot at you (which is how former Cup driver Rick Mast has always explained it to me), they'll know it's best not to mess with you.
So now Brad knows not to mess with Denny ... unless he thinks Denny has one coming.
Bass Masters is a co-host of Rowdy.com For the best NASCAR community on the internet go to Rowdy.com.
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