UPDATE: NASCAR will look into the actions and comments of Denny Hamlin in regards to his contact with Ross Chastain on the last lap of Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said Tuesday that “without a doubt it’s on our radar,” in an interview on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Sawyer said he was made aware of Hamlin’s comments Monday night and series officials planned to discuss the matter Tuesday morning.
— NBC Sports —
Original Post (3-13-2023): Denny Hamlin said Monday that he made intentional late-race contact with rival Ross Chastain during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event, saying that he felt the timing was right for a measure of revenge at Phoenix Raceway.
“It wasn’t a mistake,” Hamlin said. “I let the wheel go, and I said, ‘He’s coming with me.’ “
“I saw that we were the only people up top, so I said I’m gonna send him in the fence and door him,” Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental podcast hosted by Dirty Mo Media, explaining that he didn’t want to collect any of his other competitors. “Now my dumb ass got caught up in it because I got pinned. He was between me and the wall, and then so I got all screwed up, and then I lost a bunch of positions for my team, which was stupid as (expletive). But at the time, I’m like, I’m gonna finish in the mid-teens anyway because my car’s just plowing here, and I’m about to get ate up by all these (other drivers on) new tires. I just was like, if I’m gonna give this guy a hard time, this is going to be then.”
Hamlin said that tally of incidents factored into his decision.
— NASCAR.com —