NASCAR driver Ross Chastain has been receiving some major criticism for his performance during Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The latest to chime in there is fellow Cup Series competitor Denny Hamlin.
Chastain was the culprit of a number of crashes throughout the race, one of those being a brush-up with Hamlin.
Both Hamlin and Chastain were in the top five heading into lap 247 of the 260-lap race when Chastain bumped into the back of Hamlin, spinning Hamlin and Brad Keselowski out in the process.
Denny.
Ross.
An entanglement. pic.twitter.com/Ll2Wgd0RP1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 10, 2022
This crash was a brutal blow to Hamlin’s chances, as he finished the race in 25thw. It did not faze Chastain, who finished the race in second.
It is the latest action from a feud between Hamlin and Chastain that has been bubbling over the past month. Chastain previously sent Hamlin into the wall back in June during the Enjoy Illinois 300 over a month ago.
"Denny is not gonna be happy about that." 👀
Contact from Ross Chastain sends Denny Hamlin into the wall at Gateway. https://t.co/5AReaSwuvG pic.twitter.com/S3rwcPvwVy
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 5, 2022
Hamlin was clearly not going to be pleased about Chastain ruining his race again on Sunday. He gave his honest thoughts on Chastain during a post-race interview with reporters, as relayed by NBC Sports’ Dustin Long (and as seen at top).
“It’s all in whatever level I’m willing to take. It’s just another unfortunate circumstance for him. … I think it’s just that everyone has their different tolerance levels certainly, but you guys know I’ve reached my peak.”
#NASCAR … Denny Hamlin on contact from Ross Chastain in the race: “Everyone has their different tolerance levels … I’ve reached my peak.” pic.twitter.com/atuso6S5iq
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) July 10, 2022
It appears that retaliation might be on Hamlin’s mind. He added that Chastain will get what is coming to him, whether that be from him or another driver he has crashed into recently.
“Things just work themselves out in the end. We certainly aren’t cutting any breaks going forward, but beyond that, it’s just… As a driver, you make decisions, and I talked about those decisions. And eventually you’ve got to pay for those decisions that you make. And whatever happens in the future happens. But we’re going to be racing each other pretty hard for the rest of the season.”
While Chastain certainly got an impressive result on Sunday, he may have to deal with the consequences of his driving style in the future from Hamlin.
[For The Win; image via Dustin Long on Twitter]
