NASCAR superstar Denny Hamlin is begging for forgiveness after posting a racist video clip directed at fellow driver Kyle Larson ... saying it was "offensive" and a "poor choice of memes."

Hamlin was trying to make light of a crash Larson caused during the Geico 500 on Sunday ... going to Twitter to share a "Family Guy" clip of an Asian woman getting in a car wreck and superimposing the Hendricks driver's name over it.

Larson -- whose mother is Japanese American -- did not respond to the tweet, but Hamlin was quickly called out on social media ... with followers bashing him for shining a light on a show that leans into distasteful racial stereotypes towards Asians.

"I took down a post I made earlier today after reading some of the comments," Hamlin tweeted Monday night.

"It was a poor choice of memes and I saw how it was offensive. It came across totally wrong. I apologize."

Worth noting -- Hamlin and Larson are great friends ... so it's highly unlikely he meant any real harm before sharing the vid.

Of course, Larson found himself in hot water in 2020 ... after he was caught saying the n-word on a video game live stream. He was suspended and fired from his team, before being reinstated 6 months later.

NASCAR has yet to address Hamlin's tweet ... but it's a matter of time.