Larson felt for friend and rival Hamlin after Phoenix stunner

Kyle Larson had a moment while celebrating his second NASCAR Cup Series championship when his mind drifted elsewhere.

“I got done, and I could see his car and team and him doing interviews, and it kind of hit me like, ‘Oh, man, I can't imagine what he's feeling right now,’” Larson said of fellow championship contender Denny Hamlin. “We've all gone through our own defeats, but I really can't imagine what he's feeling. It's got to be something completely different than I ever felt before through any of my defeats.

“I had another opportunity to give an interview, and I just wanted to let everybody know how I felt.”

Larson gave his initial interview to NBC Sports on the frontstretch after climbing from his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. It was after those festivities that Larson noticed Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing in the distance, parked on pit road and digesting how Sunday’s race played out. And that is when Larson felt the pull of emotion between being elated for him and feeling for his friend.

“It was all so wild and crazy,” Larson said.

Hamlin, the polesitter, dominated the afternoon. He was less than four laps away from his first championship when the ninth and final caution changed the complexion of the race and the championship hunt, as Larson took two tires on the final pit stop to Hamlin’s four and jumped him in the running order. In overtime, Larson drove to a third-place finish and Hamlin finished sixth.

The opportunity to mention Hamlin came when Larson drove from the frontstretch to the championship stage and was presented with the Bill France Cup. Larson, unprompted, mentioned to NBC Sports that he felt sadness for Hamlin.

“He's a great competitor. He's a good friend,” said Larson, asked why he chose to expressing that during his championship moment. “In 20 years of trying, getting so close, there's definitely a large piece of me that feels really bad and sad. But at the same point, I'm happy.

“It's such a weird feeling. When you don't win the race, you don't lead a lap, you win the championship, you steal it from a guy who has tried for so long and had it in his fingertips, it's a really weird feeling.”

Larson added that it was “awkward” how close Hamlin came to finally breaking through. Sunday was the closest Hamlin had been in 20 years, and the second time he’s finished in the championship. It was the fifth time he’s been either second or third in the championship standings.

“I was going to be happy for him to win,” Larson said. “That's kind of what I was thinking about. Like, ‘Man, I can't wait to go tell him good job.’ Then the caution came out, and the script flipped right there.”