Denny Hamlin expressed frustration with Ross Chastain following Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, blaming the Trackhouse Racing driver for stalling his momentum in the crucial closing laps. After completing his final pit stop, Hamlin struggled to rejoin the lead draft and ultimately missed out on a top-ten finish.
With about 25 laps remaining, Hamlin was running second when he and his Toyota teammates pitted under green flag conditions. However, after exiting pit road, Hamlin found himself behind Carson Hocevar from Spire Motorsports, who managed to break ahead of Ross Chastain and Cody Ware. Meanwhile, Hamlin was boxed in by Chastain’s No.1 Chevrolet, costing him valuable track position.
This move effectively halted the Toyota group’s charge as the rest of the field formed into tight two-by-two lines. Given the difficulty of passing in the current Next Gen car draft, Hamlin remained mired deep in the pack for the remainder of the race. Afterward, Hamlin didn’t hold back while speaking to the media, sharing his displeasure over Chastain’s defensive driving.
“Yes and no. I didn’t know how far up we were going to get, but certainly the 1 [Chastain] making a move there to kind of wreck us was not ideal,” Hamlin said, via Bob Pockrass on X. “He’s trying to do everything he can to stop the run, but the speed differences were crazy.”
Hamlin further explained, “Once you’re stuck behind the two-by-two racing, there’s nowhere to go. You can’t race your way out.”
Ultimately, Hamlin finished the 188-lap race in 21st, just behind Chastain, while Hocevar powered forward to claim a strong sixth-place finish. The result dropped Hamlin to third in the championship standings, 52 points behind leader William Byron.
Hamlin Apologizes After Wrecking Christopher Bell at Talladega
Earlier in the race, Hamlin was also involved in a costly incident with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell. While trying to push Bell to help him maintain the lead on Lap 52, Hamlin gave a bump that ended up sending Bell spinning into Chris Buescher before crashing heavily into the inside wall.
On the team radio, a confused Hamlin said, “What in the hell? We weren’t even up to speed yet.”
Later, he accepted responsibility, adding, “Man… apologies if that’s on me. I don’t know why that would have wrecked him.”
Bell, who started 11th, saw his day end early with a DNF and slipped to fifth in the points standings.
