Denny Hamlin calls Ross Chastain’s COTA dive “crazy” as Trackhouse star owns up to “big error” with Chase Elliott

Denny Hamlin voiced his opinion on the incident between Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott on the first lap of last Sunday's Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas. Entering the first turn of the race, Chastain made a dive bomb move that sent Elliott spinning.

Hamlin's comments were brought to light via X by FOX motorsports reporter Bob Pockrass. The driver of the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota made his feelings known that he thought Chastain's first-lap move was "crazy" considering where he started the race from. Hamlin said:

"It was crazy. I mentioned it that Ross started right in front of me and somehow got the third place car. I was 11th. So, he went in their with commitment," said Hamlin (0:00 onwards)

Hamlin was then asked if he felt it was necessary for drivers to be so aggressive on the opening lap of the race. The 54-time Cup Series winner responded by saying it's all based on each driver's perspective, adding that Chastain's move would've paid off had he not run into Elliott's #9 machine. He added:

"Had he honestly not caught in the door of the 9, he probably would've gained 10 spots. He might've looked at it differently that the juice is worth the squeeze if he got through," added Hamlin (0:36 onwards)

Chastain, who finished 12th in last Sunday's race, owned up to the move as he said the contact with Elliott was a mistake. He was quoted via NASCAR.com before Saturday's Cup qualifying session at Phoenix saying:

“It was an error. When I went inside (Larson), I thought we were slow enough from the restart zone and that was not the case. I get to live with that, but from the outside, it doesn’t look good. The intention was … it was an error, a big error, to go bottom of five (wide). That was not necessary.”

Despite the first lap spinout, Elliott recovered by the end of the day to finish fourth, recording his first top-five finish of the season. Hamlin, meanwhile, finished 21st in his second finish outside the top 20 of the season.

Chase Elliott "proud" of recovery following Ross Chastain incident

Chase Elliott managed to salvage his day after the lap one incident with Ross Chastain. However, the driver of the #9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet wished it wasn't necessary.

The 2020 Cup Series champion was quoted on NASCAR.com saying he would've been frustrated about Chastain's move at any point of the race and was pleased to get a quality finish. He added:

“It’s easy for me to say that I wish it wasn’t on the first lap, which is true, but if that happens at any point in the race, you’re probably going to be bummed out about it. Like I said, I was really proud of our recovery and to be able to get back to where we were. I just hate we had to recover."

Elliott qualified sixth for Sunday's Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix. Chastain, meanwhile, qualified 24th.