LONG POND, Pa.: The on-going feud between Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain was elevated during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway when Chastain was knocked out of contention following a Lap 142 accident.
Chastain in his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE took control of the race following a round of green flag pit stops where Chastain edged ahead of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, but when Ryan Blaney spun off Turn 3 on Lap 138, it jumbled the field back together and that’s where the chaos ensued.
On the restart, Chastain took the high lane, with Hamlin who passed Kyle Busch for second a few laps before the eighth caution of the race chose the bottom lane to find himself duking it out for control of the race on the Lap 143 restart.
With a shove from third-place runner Kevin Harvick, Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry race side-by-side with Chastain entering Turn 1 but Hamlin utilizing the bottom lane to his advantage made his lane wider which forced Chastain out of the groove and slapping the outside wall before spinning back across the track in the path of Harvick before sliding to the inside wall off Turn 2 where his battered No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE came to rest.
Chastain climbed from his race car uninjured and made the mandatory trip to the infield care where he was quickly evaluated and released.
“It was something that has been owed to me for a few months now,” said Chastain. “I’m proud of the effort by Trackhouse Racing and everybody on this No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevy. It’s week in and week out that we keep bringing fast Chevy Camaro’s.
“Everybody at Advent Health, Moose Fraternity and Jockey – to keep bringing bullets like that and keep bringing fast cars is a testament to everybody at Chevrolet.”
Chastain and Hamlin’s feud has been ongoing throughout the season but has peaked with on-track incidents earlier this summer at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway and Atlanta Motor Speedway respectively where Hamlin came out on the wrong side.
This weekend in Long Pond, the roles were reversed and Chastain openly admitted, he knew that Hamlin wasn’t going to back down.
When Hamlin who scored his third Cup Series winner of the season was asked if the contact with Chastain was payback, his reply was simple.
“What did you want me to do?” said Hamlin. What did you expect me to do?”
Hamlin was then asked if the feud was over or if it will continue down the road, Hamlin explained, “We’re going to keep racing hard until we get the respect back from these guys.”
With the speed in both race cars right now, it appears both drivers and teams will be contenders in the Cup Playoffs in September and while it’s highly unlikely that Hamlin’s aggressiveness toward Chastain will diminish in the coming months ahead – everyone will be watching to see what, if anything is next with their eyes wide open.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
