The day after Hamlin was thrown out of the Coca-Cola 600 by Chase Elliott at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and after Hamlin told reporters that Elliott’s recklessness was the result of a retaliatory “tantrum” — NASCAR says Elliott has one. The penalty ticket will be suspended for one race. Elliott is scheduled to serve his suspension this weekend at Worldwide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Corey LaJoie will take his place.
A Hendrick Motorsports spokesman said in a statement Tuesday that “NASCAR understands that it must maintain consistency in the performance of its officials.” Elliott will drive the No. 9 Cup car for HMS. “We will not appeal the penalty and will formally apply for a playoff exemption,” the statement continued.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, explained the sanctioning body’s decision to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday. “After reviewing all available resources, including in-car cameras, data and SMT, which provides steering, acceleration and braking, we believe this was an intentional act by Chase,” Sawyer said. “We have great racing at our racetracks, we have some of the most phenomenal athletes driving these cars, and in the heat of the moment, things happen. “But they have to learn to react differently.”
The NASCAR-sanctioned maneuver occurred about 15 laps before the end of Stage 2. Hamlin appeared to get a little loose in Turn 4, which resulted in him pushing Elliott into the wall. On the ensuing straight, Elliott appeared to make a hard right turn into Hamlin’s right rear quarterwall, causing the No. 11 car to slide headfirst and crash into the fence.
The accident ended the day for both Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, and Hamlin, the winner of the 2022 Coca-Cola 600.
Hamlin said after the accident, just outside the stadium’s infield care center, that he was “having a tantrum and shouldn’t be driving next week.” “A right-back hook is absolutely not acceptable. I don’t care.”
Hamlin then pointed to the retaliation incident Bubba Wallace engineered with Kyle Larson last year, a ploy that got Wallace a one-race suspension. (Wallace drives for 23XI Racing, the team Hamlin co-owns with Michael Jordan.)
“That’s the same thing Bubba Wallace did to Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said. “Exactly the same. He shouldn’t be driving. Tantrum.”
Immediately after the accident, Elliott communicated with his team over the radio in frustration. Did I miss something?’
Elliott was calmer when he dealt with the crash after emerging from the infield care center. “It was just an unfortunate situation,” Elliott said on the FOX Sports broadcast. “The No. 11 (Hamlin) drove us into the fence. Once we peeled off those right sides, it was all over for us. “I thought our NAPA Chevrolet was getting stronger and stronger, and it was good to see some progress. Our pit stops were really good. I wanted to get to 600 and have a chance, but unfortunately we weren’t able to make it again.” It’s rare for NASCAR to agree with Hamlin. One of the most public disagreements between the two came after a race at Phoenix earlier this year, when the No. 11 Cup driver made contact with Ross Chastain and later suggested on a podcast (ironically called “Adverse Conduct”) that the contact was intentional. (Hamlin was fined $50,000 and had 25 driver points deducted from his points. A subsequent appeal was denied.) NASCAR said disassembly testing is still ongoing at its Research and Development Center in Concord because the event was postponed over Memorial Day race weekend. A complete update will be available later this week. Tickets for race weekend in Charlotte:
• The No. 18 (Sammy Smith) Xfinity Series team’s crew chief, Jeff Meendering, has been fined $5,000 for tires and wheels not being properly installed.
• The No. 74 (Dawson Cram) Xfinity team and driver have been assessed with the loss of 10 points after failing pre-race inspection (because of illegal air ducts).
