"Hard for me to pick a side": Denny Hamlin remains pragmatic over ex-rival Ross Chastain's controversial incident with Carson Hocevar

Denny Hamlin recently shared his take on the Ross Chastain-Carson Hocevar controversy from Atlanta. During a late restart in Sunday's Cup race, Chastain ended up losing position on the track as Kyle Larson took the lead, in which Hocevar had a big role to play.

Interestingly, Hocevar had several incidents during the race which led to drivers like Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch publically expressing their frustrations with the young driver. After the race, Chastain also confronted the Spire Motorsports driver as the two got into an intense discussion.

Speaking about the incident between Hocevar and Chastain, Denny Hamlin took the mic on the recent episode of Actions Detrimental. He said [23:10 onwards]:

"I understand both sides of this. It's hard for me to pick a side in what I think is right or wrong because it's just an interesting thing. Carson is trying to get his very first win. These types of tracks are going to be great opportunities for him to get a win and put himself in the playoffs."

Denny Hamlin explained that on a superspeedway, it's all about the cars in the top 5 remaining close to the race leader. This is because if even one of those cars pull out of line, the line is dead and whichever lane remained committed, they go forward.

"If I’m Ross, that’s probably what I’m saying is that ‘I understand you’re trying to go for the win yourself Carson, but it killed our line. We all went backwards at that point,'" Hamlin added. [24:25]

On the other hand, Denny Hamlin also assumed Carson Hocevar's role in this incident as he emphasized on the young driver eyeing his first win. Hamlin said that Atlanta would've been one of the best shots Hocevar had to win his first race, and making that move was something he believed would've got him there.

He claimed that Hocevar would go back and identify his mistake and learn from it and do better next time. However, Hamlin maintained that for Hocevar, that was his best move.

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Denny Hamlin shares his take on Ryan Blaney's comments on Carson Hocevar

Further talking about Carson Hocevar in light of Ryan Blaney's comments on the youngster, Denny Hamlin doubled down on the #12 driver's take. Blaney had suggested to Hocevar that he tone down his aggression on the track, something the JGR veteran also felt was the right thing to say to the Spire driver.

Hamlin said that Blaney 'explained it right' in his interview, and that there are things to learn for Hocevar. Having said that, the #11 driver believed there are some things that one should simply know.

"This isn't your first race, and hitting someone entering the corner on a track where you can't make contact in the corners is a recipe for disaster," Hamlin said.

Denny Hamlin echoed Ryan Blaney's words, claiming that for Hocevar, this wasn't something he should have to learn in overtime. But rather, it should be 'common knowledge.'