Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing sits 25th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings after missing four races due to a back injury in March.
Kyle Petty suggested during Sunday’s RaceDay show on Fox Sports “SPEED” that Hamlin should end his 2013 season and focus on healing his lower back. He also said Hamlin suggested he was the face of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Hamlin lashed out on Twitter in regards to Petty’s comments, calling Petty a “moron.”
Kyle petty is a moron. “@Kenny_Wallace: THIS ….“@tomjensen100: Now, @dennyhamlin says all his focus in on next year. @JoeGibbsRacing””
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) August 4, 2013
At Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Hamlin’s luck did not improve. Hamlin crashed on lap 15 of the race, finishing P43 at one of his best tracks. Hamlin swept both Pocono races in 2006 and won back-to-back at the track in August 2009 and June 2.
Hamlin continued to take shots at Petty after hitting the wall after Sunday’s wreck, “He’s an analyst, but not a very informative one because he doesn’t know anything,” Hamlin said.
“My beef with Kyle is he has a lot of opinions about a lot of drivers, but he never once talked to any of them. To be an analyst you’ve got to be in the trenches to find out the stories.”
Asked what Petty said that upset him, Hamlin said, “It’s just saying I thought I was the face of JGR. What I really said was I was the face of [primary sponsor] FedEx and the #11 team.”
Hamlin was involved in a crash on March 24 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Cali. Hamlin and Joey Logano collided on the final lap causing Hamlin to spin down into the infield and hit a section of the wall that was unprotected by a SAFER barrier. Hamlin suffered a L1 compression fracture.
Hamlin has struggled since returning, only posting three top ten finishes in the twelve races since his return.
