Driver of JGR's No. 11 is ready to move forward
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- At least one of the drivers who feuded with Brad Keselowski during last year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is moving on.
During Monday's Joe Gibbs Racing stop on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour presented by Technocom, Denny Hamlin said he thinks he's in "a good place" with the Team Penske driver.
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Hamlin and Keselowski, the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, had an on-track incident in October's race at Charlotte that had Hamlin tailing Keselowski through the garage following the event. Keselowski was also involved in an altercation with Hamlin's JGR teammate Matt Kenseth the same night, and was part of a post-race free-for-all with Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick after the Chase race at Texas Motor Speedway.
"I think as drivers, we're becoming a tighter-knit group," Hamlin said. "I think really, it doesn't take long for stuff like that to kind of wash itself under the bridge. I think that any incidents with myself, or Kevin, or Jeff or anyone who may have had an issue with Brad, it's in the past and you've got to move on.
"It's hard to hold grudges because they take up so much effort to keep them going. As drivers, you just don't have time."
The benefit of offseason vision helped Hamlin reach that place. In the throes of the Chase -- which he called one of the most exciting things in the history of NASCAR -- it can perhaps be more difficult for a big-picture view.
That's why the man who said Keselowski's "lack of remorse" wasn't well received in the garage could offer a smile and well-reasoned dialogue three months later.
"Jeff, he probably knew that was a great opportunity for him to win a championship before he retires, that probably ramped up his intensity," Hamlin said. "For those other moments, we're all trying to make it to the next round. If you feel like someone causes you to miss it, you are really, really angry. It's part of racing."