NASCAR insiders and Ryan Blaney reacted to Ty Dillon trolling Denny Hamlin after the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta on Saturday night. The discussion took place on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, where Ryan Blaney joined hosts Freddie Kraft, Tommy Bladwin, and Karsyn Elledge to talk about Ty Dillon’s upset victory over Hamlin in the In-Season Tournament.

Ryan Blaney acknowledged Dillon’s win by saying, “He did beat him,” after Kraft jokingly criticized Dillon for beating Hamlin. Kraft then expressed his genuine reaction to Dillon’s playful behavior after the race, where Dillon told Denny Hamlin fans that he had just knocked out their favorite driver.

Kraft said, “No, I think it’s really funny. I mean, this is what they wanted when they made this race, the first race of the damn challenge was to flip it on its head. I’m sure we can go through a little while and go through some of the upsets, but this is probably one of the bigger ones.” He noted that Hamlin was the No. 1 seed in the tournament but was eliminated in the first round after being caught in a wreck involving about 40 cars in Turn 3. Kraft appreciated that Ty Dillon showed some personality with his antics.

As background, Denny Hamlin was the No. 1 seed in the In-Season Tournament, while Ty Dillon was the No. 32 seed. By the end of the Atlanta race, Hamlin finished 31st, and Dillon finished eighth, which was a significant upset.

Ty Dillon’s post-race trolling of Denny Hamlin:

After the race, during the TNT broadcast, Dillon said with a grin, “For all you Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.” This was a playful jab at Hamlin, who is known for using a similar taunt after his own wins.

Hamlin responded to Dillon’s comment on his Actions Detrimental podcast, showing good sportsmanship. He said, “I see people giving Ty Dillon a lot of flak… give him his moment, people. He beat me.” Hamlin explained that Dillon was ahead the entire race and that he himself was 33rd until the crash. Hamlin also mentioned that Dillon texted him saying he was “just playing around,” which Hamlin appreciated.

Hamlin emphasized his thick skin and said he was not offended by the trolling, stating, “You’re not going to make fun of me more than I’m going to make fun of myself.” He acknowledged that being open means accepting the moments when you fail and said he would take the teasing from Dillon.

Details of the race and the wreck:

The Atlanta race was chaotic, featuring a massive 22-car crash on lap 70 that drastically affected the field and the In-Season Tournament bracket. Hamlin, who was in the midfield at the time, got spun on the backstretch, triggering a domino effect of collisions.

Hamlin described the wreck to FOX Sports, saying, “Some zigged, some zagged, and we all ended up crashed.” He explained that it was normal speedway pushing but that not everyone was perfectly aligned, which caused the chain reaction. He was spun into the wall and then hit again as he crossed the track.

Despite the wreck not being Hamlin’s fault entirely, he admitted on his podcast that “Maybe it was my fault,” after reviewing the replay several times. He said he was pushing as usual and noticed some erratic moves by others in front of him, which contributed to the crash.

The wreck eliminated many top contenders, including Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and others, reshaping the tournament’s progression. Ty Dillon’s upset over Hamlin was the biggest bracket buster of the night.