Chase Elliott shrugs off altercation hype in Martinsville return

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- The promotional videos, TV commercials and social-media chatter have been almost unavoidable this week for Chase Elliott. The run-up to Monday's STP 500 (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) has been chock-full of clips from his role in a confrontational finish and face-off with Denny Hamlin here last fall. In terms of building up any sense of drama, Elliott hasn't really bought in. "My reaction is everybody's got to try to write a story, right?" Elliott said. "It's been a long time ago, last October to now has been a good while back. … I can't do anything about it. So for me, when I think about that night, I try to make myself think about things that our car was doing that made us good and just try to run laps in my head." RELATED: Memorable Martinsville moments | See what happened last fall

Hamlin says he's also done his part to try to turn the page, even though the visuals of their post-race showdown have been tough to avoid.

"It's part of short-track racing and it obviously gets used a lot for promos," Hamlin said. "It's part of short-track racing and it has been for many, many years. It was just bad to be a part of it on that particular night."

RELATED: Hamlin: Bump and run is 'part of short-track racing' Elliott and Hamlin clashed in the late going of the track's annual fall race last October. Hamlin's nudge from behind sent Elliott spinning from the lead, relegating him to a 27th-place finish. More importantly, it denied Elliott a shot at his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory and a final four spot for a championship berth in last year's playoffs. The two exited their cars and squared off on the backstretch on the cool-down lap. Their heated exchange of words and budding rivalry carried over two weeks later at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, where the two made contact again nearing the race's end. Having had nearly five months to reflect on the events of last fall, Elliott said he hasn't played through any hypothetical scenarios. "I mean, the coulda, woulda game doesn't really matter," Elliott said. "There was a lot that was laying on that race. It wasn't just a win, it was a chance to win a championship. That obviously had a lot of implications. It doesn't matter. It didn't happen. I can't turn back time. We all know the implications of the things that could have been, but they weren't. No point in really getting caught up in it too much."