Corey LaJoie gives his insight into Denny Hamlin’s nervy moment at COTA

Corey LaJoie shared his insight on the late-race incident between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon at the Circuit of the Americas, which left Dillon stuck in the gravel. It was an unusual wreck, as Hamlin appeared to lose control entering Turn 6a before ramming into the #3 Chevy.

The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver had a tough start to his race, getting caught up in the first-lap wreck initiated by Ross Chastain. After spending much of the race struggling at the back of the pack, Hamlin made contact with the #3 Richard Childress Racing driver with 18 laps remaining, while Dillon's teammate, Kyle Busch, was leading the race.

With no clear explanation for Hamlin's bizarre move, LaJoie broke down what seemingly happened at Turn 6a. He pointed out that a significant amount of dirt had accumulated on the inside line, heading into the corner. The #11 Toyota driver attempted to dive down the inside to complete an overtake but ended up with all four tires in the dirt, losing control, and sliding into the #3 Chevy.

Watch the incident between the two drivers in the video below:

LaJoie offered his insights on X (formerly Twitter), writing:

"That left lane was covered in dirt from guys dropping the RS off through 5. He got all 4 in that and was along for the ride."

The two drivers have a history, with Dillon infamously wrecking Joey Logano and Hamlin for the win at Richmond Raceway last year. The incident put a dent in their friendship, and the recent collision at COTA added another chapter, this time with Hamlin being the aggressor.

Austin Dillon had to retire from the race and was classified 35th, while Denny Hamlin continued and, after an eventful outing in Austin, finished 21st.

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Denny Hamlin-Austin Dillon crash ruined Kyle Busch's outing

Kyle Busch was leading the race when Denny Hamlin sent his teammate, Austin Dillon, into the gravel trap, bringing out the caution. This ruined Busch's chances of defending against Christopher Bell and William Byron, who had fresher tires.

In the post-race interview, Busch suggested that he could have maintained the lead if the caution hadn't come out. Once the field was bunched up, he was forced to take defensive lines, making it difficult to preserve his tires. He was quoted by NBC Sports as saying:

"I feel like that might have been able to help hold me on a little bit better to him, but even that last yellow flag that we had, I felt like the gap that I had to the field, I was far enough out front that I could run the clean lines, the lines that I wanted, to preserve the tires and take care of them as much as I could to see if he could get there. But once we had that yellow, then it was just defensive mode. You’re in complete and utter just beat the heck out of the tires at that point, and I just didn’t have it over the No. 20."

Having led 42 laps in his pursuit of victory at COTA, Busch dropped to fifth in the closing laps, extending his winless streak to 60 races dating back to 2023. Busch and Richard Childress Racing will look to bounce back this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.