Dillon, Kaulig Racing grab attention with Hamlin upset and viral jab

Ty Dillon capitalized on the moment.

Dillon entered the NASCAR in-season tournament as the No. 32 seed and beat No. 1 seed Denny Hamlin last weekend at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta). It was a race where Dillon qualified and finished better than Hamlin, and was running ahead of the No. 11 when Hamlin was collected in the 22-car crash that eliminated many contenders.

In his television interview afterward, Dillon told Hamlin fans he knocked “your favorite driver out.” The jab was a reference to Hamlin’s oft-used “I beat your favorite driver” to the crowd after winning a race.

Dillon went viral. Hamlin loved it.

“I see people giving Ty Dillon a lot of flak,” Hamlin said earlier this week on his podcast, Actions Detrimental. “Ty Dillon, give him his moment, people. He beat me. … He was ahead of me the whole [expletive] race. I was 33rd until we crashed. Just let him have his moment.

“He texted me, ‘Hey, I was just playing around.’ I was like, ‘Bro, I loved it.’”

Saturday, Dillon told RACER advancing in the tournament and the viral interview have been big for him and his race team.