Denny Hamlin commended Tyler Reddick for having a clean fight with Corey Heim at San Diego. Hamlin praised Reddick for checking up when he ran Heim into the wall on the final laps.
It was ‘Heim Time’ on Sunday’s Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado. The reigning Truck champion had a stellar final stint in his 13th and only road course start in the Cup Series.
Heim put pressure on his five-win teammate and points leader, Tyler Reddick, forcing him to burn off his tires before a costly error on Turn 5. Reddick hoped to get away on the inside, but he instead made contact with Heim and sent him wide.
In a post-race press conference, Hamlin highlighted Reddick’s sportsmanship after the incident.
“I think it speaks a lot to Tyler’s character, right? I mean, he apparently felt like Corey raced him very clean, got around him clean. And when he tried to pass him back clean, he didn’t, so he wanted to hit the reset button and try it again,” he said via X/Steven Taranto.
“I’m very proud of that,” Hamlin continued, “because it’s very easy when you’re racing for the win to just say ‘I’ll say I’m sorry later.’ But it speaks a lot to the character of Tyler Reddick.”
Tyler Reddick ended up with a flat left front after the contentious moment, leaving him with a middling 25th-place finish. The result allowed Denny Hamlin to catch up in the rankings, as he now trails Reddick by just eight points.
Reddick reflected on his fight with Heim and admitted that he ‘overdid’ his approach. Nonetheless, he congratulated his teammate and hoped to bounce back at Sonoma.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is scheduled for Sunday, June 28, at 3:30 PM.
Denny Hamlin reveals his part in the Carson Hocevar-Corey Heim fallout
Denny Hamlin was apparently caught off guard by Carson Hocevar’s fallout with Corey Heim. Notably, the 23XI driver spun out Hocevar during the final laps.
In an interview with Dirty Mo Media, Hamlin recalled an interaction with Hocevar after Sunday’s race.
“We have to acknowledge that Corey did get in the back of Carson Hocevar and spun him out. I, interestingly enough, Carson texted me right after the race and said, ‘Hey, can you send me Corey’s number?’ “And I thought that’s nice of him, he wants to congratulate him. I had no idea (laughing). I had no idea he had spun him out. Sorry, Corey, I shared your number,” Denny Hamlin said.
