The following week, Wallace got his payback when he took the steering wheel - drivers typically left it on the cars’ roofs before getting in - from Earnhardt’s car. “My one-on-one calls with him usually aren’t that pleasant,” Hamlin said.įrance, whose father, William “Big Bill” France, founded NASCAR, told Hamlin what an accomplishment it was for the 42-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver to join a list that included greats like “King” Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt. “I’m nervous because I’m like, man, Bristol just happened, am I in trouble for something?” Larson said.ĭenny Hamlin, who has three Daytona 500 wins among 49 career victories, saw that NASCAR CEO Jim France had called him and immediately thought he was in trouble again. Larson was worried about returning the call he had recently tangled with Ryan Preece during the Bristol dirt race. Kyle Larson, the 2021 series champion who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, was on a bike ride last month when Helton called with the news. Not everyone in the final 25, which included nine drivers who raced in Darlington’s Goodyear 400 on Sunday, knew what to think when NASCAR officials called to let them know.

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