With 18 laps to go at Pocono Raceway Sunday afternoon, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain got together during a restart while battling for the lead. The contact between the two caused Chastain to hit the outside wall, leading him to spin and crash down the backstretch.
RELATED: Hamlin on Chastain contact | Chastain’s perspective
It’s neither the first time Hamlin and Chastain have been involved in an incident nor is it a secret that the two can’t get along on the race track following events that took place at World Wide Technology Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Eventual Pocono winner Chase Elliott had a clear view of their contact in Turn 1.
“I honestly thought Denny was pretty nice about it,” Elliott said Monday morning in a Zoom teleconference. “He did run him up the track a little bit but he still left him some room there on exit after it was all said and done. I thought all things considered, he [Hamlin] was pretty kind about what went on there.”
Back at Gateway in June, Elliott was spun by Chastain coming off Turn 4, leading to both Hamlin and Elliott giving Chastain issues as he tried to get by them later on in the race.
RELATED: Race Results
Chastain wound up with a 32nd-place finish at Pocono while Elliott was awarded the win after crossing the line third following disqualifications of Hamlin and Kyle Busch due to failing post-race inspection.