Denny Hamlin accuses Ross Chastain of attempting to ‘wreck him’ at Talladega

Denny Hamlin accused Ross Chastain of stalling his momentum during the closing laps of Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. After his final pit cycle, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver found himself stuck behind the chasing pack's draft, a setback that ultimately cost him a top-ten finish.

With 25 laps remaining, Hamlin was running in second when he and his Toyota teammates pitted for their final stop during green flag conditions. The No.11 driver came out behind Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar, who was able to slip past the tail end's Ross Chastain and Cody Ware, while Hamlin got blocked by the former's No.1 Chevrolet.

The move ended up halting the entire progression of the Toyota group, as the rest of the field gridlocked into rows of two. With the Next Gen cars struggling to make passes in the draft, Hamlin remained a fixture among the backmarkers till the checkered flag. Speaking to the media post-race, Hamlin shared his frustration with the Trackhouse Racing driver's aggressive tactics.

"Yes and No. I didn't know how far up we were actually going to get, but certainly the one [Chastain] making a move there to kind of wreck us was not ideal but I mean he's trying to do everything he can to stop the run it's just the variance of speed there was crazy," (0:08 ownwards) Hamlin said via X/bobpockrass

"There is nowhere you can go. Once you work yourself out of the pit cycle and you’re behind the two-by-two, there is nowhere to go. There’s nowhere to race," he added. (1:15 ownwards)

Denny Hamlin finished the 188-lap event in 21st, one spot behind Ross Chastain. Meanwhile, Hocevar made his way through the field to finish in the top ten in sixth. The result dropped Hamlin one spot in the standings to rank third, 52 points behind championship leader William Byron.

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Denny Hamlin apologises after collision with Christopher Bell at Talladega

Denny Hamlin apologized to his JGR teammate Christopher Bell after inadvertently taking him out during the opening stage at Talladega. Bell was leading the field on lap 52 when Hamlin was bumping him to help maintain his lead. One of those bumps proved too costly, as Bell went spinning sideways and into Chris Beuscher before plunging headfirst into the inside wall.

The crash wrecked his car and ended his race, while Hamlin was left confused on the team radio.

"What in the hell?" Hamlin says. "We weren't even up to speed yet."

He went on to take responsibility for the crash and offered an apology.

"Man...apologies if that's on me. We weren't even up to speed yet. I don't know why that would have wrecked him. When he shot down to the bottom, I wasn't even sure I was actually on him," Denny Hamlin said.

Bell began his race in 11th, two spots ahead of Hamlin. His DNF caused him to drop two spots in the Driver's standings, falling to fifth with 307 points.