“He shouldn't be racing; It's a tantrum" - When Denny Hamlin called for Chase Elliott's suspension after a wrecking incident

Denny Hamlin once called out Chase Elliott for intentionally taking him out, saying the latter shouldn’t be racing. The incident took both drivers out of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, with Elliott later suspended for one race.

Hamlin, who was piloting the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, put the squeeze on the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro of Elliott on lap 186. After Elliott touched the wall, he retaliated and bumped the right rear of Hamlin’s car, causing both cars to sustain race-ending damage.

During the post-race interview at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the now 43-year-old driver said his rival shouldn’t race for intentional wrecking.

“It’s a tantrum, and he shouldn’t be racing next week,” Hamlin said. “Right rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable.”

The JGR driver recalled the Las Vegas race in 2022 when Bubba Wallace did a similar move on Kyle Larson that ended their races early.

“It’s the same thing Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson… the exact same.”

Denny Hamlin concluded by saying:

“He shouldn’t be racing. It’s a tantrum.”

The suspension caused Chase Elliott to miss the race at the World Wide Technology Raceway where Hamlin finished 2nd behind Kyle Busch.

Hendrick Motorsports did not appeal the suspension. The Concord-based outfit tapped Corey LaJoie to take over the No. 9 car.

The said stop in Illinois marked Elliott’s seventh race missed in 2023. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion dealt with an injury from a snowboarding accident earlier in the season and was sidelined for six races.

At the end of the season, Chase Elliott had seven top-5 and 15 top-10 finishes. The driver didn’t record a single win, a first since his sophomore year at the Cup Series in 2017. He also missed the playoffs for the first time in the premier series.

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Chase Elliott climbed from the back of the pack to a P9 finish at Kansas

The latest race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at Kansas witnessed Chase Elliott finishing 9th after starting at the back. His No. 9 car had an engine issue on Saturday and failed to put down a qualifying lap.

Despite an impressive finish at Kansas Speedway, Chase Elliott was critical of the No. 9 team’s performance. The driver pointed out that poor pit stops were among the issues during the race weekend.

The 28-year-old driver spoke with NBC Sports motorsports journalist Dustin Long regarding his thoughts on the race.

“We just had an uphill battle, it seemed like all day. I really thought our car was pretty good. We were able to move forward long ways I seemed like. Because we had a bad pit pick, ultimately it puts you in a bad position to lose spots on pit road. So, it seemed like we would get a bunch of spots and then lose a bunch of spots from the pit road thing.”

Regardless, Chase Elliott was pleased to at least make it to the top 10.

“We tried to claw back up, fall back up in the top-10. It was nice to at least get that one”

The HMS driver will continue his playoff run at the YellaWood 500 from Talladega Superspeedway, happening on October 6.