NASCAR’s Denny Hamlin: Brad Keselowski’s lack of remorse irks drivers

The post-race brawl at Texas might have been avoided if NASCAR’s Brad Keselowski had shown remorse for the contact with Jeff Gordon’s car that made Gordon so angry, fellow driver Denny Hamlin said Tuesday.

As the race neared its end Sunday, Keselowski tried to squeeze his No. 2 Ford between the Chevrolets of leaders Gordon and Jimmie Johnson at Texas Motor Speedway.

That caused Gordon’s car to suffer a cut tire and spin, dropping Gordon to a 29th-place finish. Johnson won, followed by Kevin Harvick and Keselowski. Hamlin finished 10th.

Keselowski “just doesn’t have any remorse,” Hamlin told reporters on a conference call. “It was the moment where Brad kind of blew Jeff off was when it set things off.”

Keselowski, who drives for Team Penske, vigorously defended his actions after the Texas race. And his team owner Roger Penske this week said, “Brad has my 100% support.”

Hamlin said Keselowski “doesn’t have to apologize. If Brad would have talked to Jeff and said, ‘Man, I was going for a hole, it was my only chance, you know, I’m really sorry it cut your tire,’ I think it goes totally different.

“Instead, it was, ‘Oh, well, sorry bud, you left a hole,’ ” Hamlin continued. “If [Keselowski] did it to me I would have had the same reaction as Jeff, no question.”

Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, is among the eight Sprint Cup drivers still in contention for the championship with two races left. So are Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, Keselowski, who won the title in 2012, and Harvick.

The Chase contenders will be cut to four after the Phoenix race to decide the title at the season finale Nov. 16 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hamlin also said “there’s a lot of animosity” toward Keselowski in the garage these days, which Hamlin viewed as a negative.

“I’ve made so many mistakes it’s silly,” Hamlin said. “But I’ve learned from them and I feel like I’ve gotten the respect of my competitors because of that. I don’t want to be a driver that has zero respect from my peers.

“It’s tough to win a championship if nobody likes you,” he said. “That’s a tough way to race.”

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