Denny Hamlin Jokes About Bumping Kyle Larson, and NASCAR Owner Chip Ganassi Is Fuming

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is fond of joking around with his friends, which he showed on Sunday [...]

By John Newby

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is fond of joking around with his friends, which he showed on Sunday night. He posted a video of him in the grocery store, bumping fellow driver Kyle Larson with his shopping cart. Larson laughed, but car owner Chip Ganassi was not amused.

"Hey @dennyhamlin I have a building full of people including myself that do not think that's funny. #badtaste," Ganassi wrote on Twitter after watching the clip.

The reason for his displeasure is that Hamlin was recreating a situation from Sunday's Auto Club 400. Larson was in 13th place and Hamlin was in 14th when Hamlin used his No. 11 Toyota to give Larson a push into Turn 1 on Lap 34. Larson's car wiggled from the collision ultimately hitting the wall.

Larson had to head to get repairs on his No. 42 Chevrolet, which took away much of his momentum. He finished the Auto Club 400 in 21st place, moving him to ninth in the Cup Series standings.

Hamlin, however, finished the race in seventh place. He is also in seventh place in the Cup Series standings with 94 points. His victory during the season-opening Daytona 500 gave him an advantage over many of his fellow drivers in the race toward the championship.

While many of Hamlin's fans found this interaction at the grocery store entertaining, those that cheer for Chip Ganassi Racing were not happy. They are still fuming about the Daytona 500 and believe that Hamlin should not have been the winner during the season-opening race.

"This is what happens when Hamlin wins a Daytona 500 he thinks it's funny showing folks how he did it. Grow up Hamlin. You shouldn't have won that one Ryan Newman should have!" one NASCAR fan wrote on Twitter.

They were still angry about the Roush Fenway Racing driver wrecking at the end of the race, as well as Hamlin winning after the incident.

There were several arguments on social media about the pushing incidents in the grocery store and on the track. The NASCAR fans had vastly different viewpoints about the situation and whether or not Larson should have been angry. However, there was one individual that felt it was perfectly fine for Ganassi to be angry while Larson laughed.

"Y'all need to understand that yes Larson is laughing about it. Seems like he's handling it well. Now from Chip's perspective, yes he's upset and every right to be because he has to pay to fix the damaged car. So before you call Chip a crybaby, think about his perspective," the user wrote on Twitter.

The opinions about Hamlin's video remained split on Tuesday as fans argued about the various aspects. There may not have been a resolution in the discussion, but Larson will have an opportunity to defeat Hamlin on the track this Sunday during the FanShield 500.

(Photo Credit: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

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