Kyle Larson spun Ryan Blaney out during the Enjoy Illinois 300 on Sunday, and his rival demanded an explanation after the race.

Denny Hamlin secured his fifth win of the season after beating Chase Briscoe to the line at World Wide Technology Raceway, but was booed by fans in St. Louis. Blaney managed to finish fourth, which looked unlikely after Larson spun him.

Larson was battling for fifth and had an open road, but made contact with Blaney when attempting a maneuver. Blaney finished eight places higher than Larson, but asked why he made contact after the race.

Blaney has shown his frustration following contact in the past, but on Sunday, he remained calm. Blaney spoke with Larson after the race, but there was no tension as the two drivers shared a civil discussion.

“Well, I just wanted to know what I did to deserve it,” Blaney said regarding his conversation. “He said he made a mistake, and that’s fine, make mistakes, but at the end of the day, I’ve still got to turn.

“He came from all the way on the bottom of the race track and hit me in the left rear. He most likely didn’t mean to do it, but it happened anyway, so that’s one I’ve got to remember.”

Blaney still secured a top-five finish and was satisfied with the result. “But I was happy that we bounced after we got turned around, timing where we needed to be, and having a good enough car to get back to fourth,” he added. “Good day, good recovery.”

Larson spoke to NBC Sports about the incident and offered his side of the story. He took total responsibility for spinning Blaney, who appeared to appreciate the admission.

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“I just told him I messed up. I wasn’t meaning to go in there and hit him,” Larson said. “The lap before I had gotten in there, got inside of him, slid up, got to his door, and got tight to where I could race him down the frontstretch.

“I was just trying to do that again. I was a little bit further back. Just misjudged the point where I wasn’t going to get next to him and tuck in, and I just clipped him. All on me, wasn’t intentional at all, so I hope he understands that.

“Outside of that, it was a great race for us. We had a great, great car… proud of my team, just a phenomenal race car at a place where we struggle at, style of track where we struggle at.

“Looking forward to going to New Hampshire with this package and building off of it, and just keep trying to do a good job in the playoffs. Hopefully, I’ll get to Phoenix to have a chance to race for the championship.”