The talk of the NASCAR world following Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway has been the late-race run-in between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson.  Hamlin would go on to win the race, while Larson finished 20^th after falling during the final restart.

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion appeared on his High Limit Room podcast on Monday and shared his thoughts on what had transpired on the track with Hamlin. 

Larson admits he doesn’t expect Hamlin to reach out with an apology anytime soon.  However, what Larson is more upset about 24 hours after the incident was how the veteran handled himself after the checkered flag. 

“I know he’s not sorry, he shouldn’t be sorry.  He did what he thought he had to do to win the race and he ultimately won the race.  The stuff I’ve heard after the race now is what’s frustrated me even more,” Larson said.  “For him to say he didn’t hit me, how do you crash somebody when you don’t touch them.  Well, (Hamlin) did touch me.  You can look at the onboard from the No. 4 car (Kevin Harvick) and you can tell the angle that I have after he hits the left side of my car; I have no angle to make the rest of the corner.  I’ve looked at SMT, I was off the throttle as soon as he hit me all the way until I hit the wall.  When he said you have a choice to lift, I did lift.  All that stuff just pisses me off.”

VIDEO: Watch the full episode of Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet's High Limit Room Podcast. 

Larson mentioned past run-in’s he himself has been a part of, but that he’s ready to be raced the same way by said drivers.  At the same time, he explained similar incidents from Hamlin in the past and how he feels the respect he gives the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who is also a friend away from the track, isn’t reciprocated.

“I can’t deny that I have not made moves exactly the same way as that, or put others in tough spots.  But I feel like I can expect to be raced that same way back from those people.  I haven’t put Denny in the wall, I’ve been spun off his front bumper many of times now.  I think eventually I have to get that respect back because I obviously don’t have it on his end.  He may respect my talent and stuff like that like he said, but I feel like when we race each other I don’t get the same respect back that I feel like I give him.

“Maybe his opinion changes a little bit today, but I know he feels a certain way about the way I race, or the way he thinks I race.  But I’ve seen him put more people in that position than I’ve put in that position.  Sure, I got Bubba (Wallace) in the wall and he retaliated and he had a right to be mad at me.  Denny doesn’t think I should be mad at him, it seems like though.”

RELATED: Kyle Larson Defends Silver Cup Crown at Lernerville Speedway

Sunday’s incident between Larson and Hamlin displays the complexes of creating and maintaining friendships in the NASCAR Cup Series garage.  The two have remained friends throughout Larson’s Cup career, but Sunday’s contact at Pocono and last-lap contact at Kansas Speedway while racing for the win has complicated things.

“That’s the tough part about racing and friendships.  You try hard to not let that stuff have lingering effects off the track, but on the track I’ve got reason to be upset a handful of times now.  Most of the times he’s gotten into me it’s nothing intentional or anything like that, where yesterday is the first time I’ve been, I’d say upset with stuff that’s happened from him to me just because it was intentional.  He went in there to run as close as he could to my left side, which he did hit me.  I know he says he didn’t but the replays clearly show that he makes contact with me and then my car shoots up the racetrack.  Was it an intentional move?  I don’t know if he necessarily meant to put me in the wall.  I have a reason to be upset about yesterday.

“I don’t really like talking, whether things happen on accident or intentionally I just think it’s best to move on.  I’m just that type of person, I don’t like confrontation.  I like for things to move over as quickly as possible, whether that be racing stuff or things with Katelyn even, when she’s upset with me.”

Citing a late-race incident between Hamlin and Ross Chastain during last year’s Pocono race in regards to what he expected during the late restart Sunday afternoon, Larson admits he will have to change the way he races Hamlin moving forward after the events that unfolded. 

“The whole scenario ran through my head before the final two restarts.  I had Denny to my inside the second to last restart.  I got a good push from behind so I didn’t have to worry about him running me into the fence then.  But it all ran through my head before; I was like okay, I know if he gets to my inside I know he’s going to put the same move he did to Ross (Chastain) because it worked for him last year.  

“You can expect things from guys and I expect Denny to race me that way, I’ve seen him do it to others.  That’s just how you have to race, you have to race like an asshole and Denny races like an asshole.  I guess I will going forward.”

Moving forward, Larson will set his focus on the High Limit Sprint Car Series event at Grandview Speedway on Tuesday night. Larson discussed the event at Grandview, the recent Eldora Million and more on the full episode of the High Limit Room podcast on FloRacing. 

Tuesday’s High Limit Sprint Car Series event at Grandview will be streamed live on FloRacing. If you’re not already a FloRacing subscriber, click here to sign up today.