NASCAR suspended driver Chase Elliott for one race after wrecking Denny Hamlin, the series announced Tuesday. Authorities ruled that Elliott acted intentionally when he made contact with Hamlin in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600.
Elliott was racing side-by-side with Hamlin at Charlotte Motor Speedway when the two came close at the start of the turn on Lap 186 before Hamlin squeezed Elliott, who brushed the wall. Elliott swerved left in his No. 9 Chevrolet and hit the back of Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, sending him headfirst into the outside wall. Hamlin then spun around and ended up in the grass.
Hamlin’s car was destroyed and Elliott’s beyond repair after the incident, leaving both competitors out for the remainder of NASCAR’s longest race.
HAMLIN:Elliott fumes after Coca-Cola 600 wreck: “He shouldn’t race”
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Elliott will miss Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. This will be the seventh race missed by the Hendrick Motorsports driver this season. The most popular driver in NASCAR missed six races earlier this year after fracturing his tibia following a snowboarding accident in Colorado, before the March 5 race in Las Vegas.
“We understand NASCAR’s need to maintain consistency in its officiating. The penalty will not be appealed and we will submit a formal request for a playoff waiver,” Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement. “Corey LaJoie, 31, will pilot the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend -end at World Wide Technology Raceway. We are grateful to Corey for stepping up and to the Spire Motorsports team for making it available.
After the race that Ryan Blaney wonHamlin expressed extreme displeasure with Elliott’s action.
“I hung onto the right back in the middle of the straight,” Hamlin told reporters Monday. “It’s a tantrum, and he should not race next week. Right rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable.”
Hamlin compared his incident to that of October between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson, where the former was suspended for one week for intentional demolition the latter in the race for the Las Vegas playoffs.
Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion, denied his action was intentional, saying Monday: “The 11 (Hamlin’s car) hit us in the fence there, and once you ripped the right side of these things, it’s kind of over. Once you hit the wall in these things, you can’t drive them anymore. Just an unfortunate circumstance.
What did NASCAR say about suspension?
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, said Tuesday on Sirius NASCAR Radio that officials determined “this was an intentional act by Chase in our opinion, after reviewing all available resources “.
NASCAR suspended Elliott under a section of the rules covered by the “Member Code of Conduct.” Among the rules covered in this article is “dangerous elimination of another competitor from the championship when not running for a position based on available evidence and the specific circumstances of the incident.”
What Hamlin said before the suspension was issued
Hamlin said Tuesday on his “Detrimental Actions” podcast that Elliott’s act was absolutely deliberate revenge for prior contact between the two.
“There is no explanation he could give, when he had no reason to stay left. You know, he obviously didn’t want to admit it,” he said.
Hamlin tweeted images of data from Elliott’s car Monday night to prove his point — data that NASCAR took into account when determining whether Elliott’s actions were intentional.
Hamlin explained that he “pointed out in the data I tweeted that once he went into the wall, there was nothing wrong with his car. He turned the steering wheel straight up, like it was going straight down, and you can tell from the data whether you have toe link damage or not.
“Everyone hits the wall. But he threw a fit and just left us on the most dangerous part of the track possible and that ended my day and his day.”
What the suspension means for Elliott
Because Elliott had already missed six races this season, Hendrick Motorsports had to request a waiver from NASCAR to allow Elliott to be eligible for the playoffs – which the series granted. Drivers would normally have to compete in every race to be eligible for the playoffs, but NASCAR may grant waivers due to injuries or other circumstances.
Hendrick Motorsports said in its statement Tuesday that the team will submit another formal playoff waiver request for Elliott following the suspension.
Sixteen drivers compete in the 10-race Cup Series playoffs, and a victory in any of the 26 regular season races would guarantee a playoff spot – unless there are more than 16 winners, in which points would be the determining factor. Drivers can also fight their way into the playoffs if there are fewer than 16 winners, but with Elliott missing so many races, he would almost certainly fail to place in the top 16 in points.
After serving his suspension, Elliott would return on June 11 for the road race at Sonoma Raceway. Including Sonoma, Elliott would have 11 races to try to reach victory lane.
Contributor: Associated Press
