Denny Hamlin calls for Chase Elliott’s suspension after wreck at Coca-Cola 600
Denny Hamlin feels NASCAR should suspend Chase Elliott after an incident between the two drivers during Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The incident occurred on Lap 185 of the race, which was rescheduled after Sunday’s rainout. Replays showed Hamlin crowd Elliott’s car into the wall on the frontstretch. Elliott seemed to wreck Hamlin intentionally right after that.
“They need to park his (expletive) ass,” Hamlin said over his radio following the incident.
After Hamlin was released from the infield care center, he expanded on his feelings.
“Yeah it’s a tantrum, and he shouldn’t be racing next week,” Hamlin said. “Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. I don’t care. It’s the same thing Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson. Exact same. He shouldn’t be racing. Tantrum.”
Hamlin also took to Twitter following the accident showing data that Elliott cranked his steering wheel harder and showing he intentionally wrecked him.
NASCAR suspended Wallace for one race after shoving Larson during a playoff race last October at Las Vegas. NASCAR didn’t issue a statement on the Hamlin-Elliott incident on Monday. The sanctioning body typically releases punishments from the previous race on Tuesdays.
Elliott said there were no ill intentions on his part and specifically noted the wreck wasn’t retaliatory.
“It was just an unfortunate circumstance,” Elliott said during an interview with FOX Sports. “The 11 (Hamlin) ran us up into the fence. Once you tear the right sides off these things, it is pretty much over.
“I thought our NAPA Chevy was getting stronger and it was nice to be making some gains. Our pit stops were really good. We were trying to get to Mile 600 and have a shot but unfortunately failed to do that again.”
Elliott has missed six races after sustaining a fractured tibia in February while snowboarding in Colorado. He received a waiver from NASCAR to be eligible to make the playoffs, provided he gets in on points or wins a race before the Aug. 26 cutoff date.
This story was originally published May 29, 2023 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Denny Hamlin calls for Chase Elliott’s suspension after wreck at Coca-Cola 600."
