NASCAR driver comments following the on-track incidents at Phoenix Raceway
Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain have a long history of running into each other. Their incidents began last year at WWT Raceway in St. Louis. They’ve continued into 2023.
Hear from Ross Chastain below.
In the opening race of the season, Chastain got into Hamlin, re-igniting the fire for the 2023 season. That happened in The Clash at the Coliseum.
At Phoenix Raceway, Denny Hamlin found himself in a situation where he was on older tires on a restart in the final laps. He was going backwards, regardless. When Ross Chastain worked to his outside, Hamlin opened the wheel and ran him into the wall.
Denny Hamlin vs Ross Chastain: Phoenix Raceway (Video)
After the race, the two drivers had a conversation on pit lane. And according to Hamlin, they made a truce going forward.
Initially, NASCAR viewed it as a racing incident. However, Hamlin used his ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast to detail the incident.
NASCAR viewed the comments from the podcast as an admission. They elected to hand Hamlin a penalty, ironically noting “Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing.”
NASCAR fined Hamlin $50,000 and they also docked him 25 points.
NASCAR issues $550,000 in fines after Phoenix Raceway
Ross Chastain has learned a lot in incidents with Denny Hamlin
Hamlin voiced his point of view on the situation earlier this week. On Saturday, Ross Chastain had his chance to comment since the altercation…
“Initially, when I’m hitting the wall and realizing, we finished last of the lead lap car, I’m mad,” Ross Chastain told reporters at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“I’m human and you work really hard to finish good. The cool down lap, still mad. Just had a lot of self-talk and weighing out all my options.”
“I felt like being out of the car and talking would be the best way I could go about it. I asked myself, ‘What could I gain?’ The most gain for me was getting out of the car and talking to him.”
“I’m always learning and I’m always evolving as a race car driver. For me, what I’ve learned from all this is there was a couple mistakes that I made that compounded themselves and coupled together with a guy like him, it’s going to get a lot bigger than it probably ever should have.”
Chastain added, “I’ve learned a lot through this whole process, for sure. — I don’t want to be running into guys, I just need to do a better job in some key moments. I could do myself a lot of favors.”
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