“That’s why he’s the most popular driver”: Fans laud Chase Elliott’s gesture towards Denny Hamlin ahead of Brickyard 400

Before their qualifier at the Brickyard 400, where Chase Elliott secured third place and Denny Hamlin finished second, the two NASCAR drivers were seen exchanging words on pit road. The interaction caught the attention of fans, especially considering the pair's history of on-track skirmishes and bumps.

During his trackside interview, Hamlin shed light on their conversation. He explained that the dialogue stemmed from a minor mishap where his team misplaced a piece of paper with important information during the qualifiers. Elliott found it and returned it to Hamlin. The #11 driver expressed his appreciation for the gesture, saying:

"Man! He's a stand-up guy. I guess one of the 23XI guys dropped a piece of paper out of their back pocket that had some important information on it, and he handed it to me to give it to those guys."

Fans were also elated to see the kind gesture on Chase Elliott's part. One of them said:

"That's why he is the Most Popular Driver in NASCAR these days."

Here are a few more reactions to the post:

"I don't care what anybody says, it's hard not to like @chaseelliott as a person...all around nice guy....his mama raised him right!" another fan tweeted.

"Chase is a really good guy and a true champion!!!" a fan wrote.

"Chase has always been classy," another fan tweeted.

"Class act!" said one.

"Yes He is A Good Guy No He is A Great Guy," claimed another.

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Denny Hamlin tags Chase Elliott as a serious contender for the championship

On his podcast "Actions Detrimental," Denny Hamlin discussed Chase Elliott's impressive first win of the season at Texas Motor Speedway. He underlined that Elliott's victory wasn’t due to strategy or fuel mileage. Instead, Chase Elliott made a decisive move, overtaking Hamlin and Tyler Reddick in a three-wide maneuver at the bottom on the restart, grabbing and maintaining the lead.

Hamlin acknowledged that although he later regained the lead because he felt his car was slightly superior, Chase Elliott had initially outmaneuvered him and Reddick on the restart and held them off for the victory. According to Hamlin, it was an outright win. He noted:

"Now he's like, 'Okay, this is how aggressive I have to be, this is what I need out of my car for it to be fast.' You start to understand those things and next thing you know, these wins just start reeling off. So absolutely, I would consider them a championship threat."

With both the NASCAR Cup drivers finishing strong in the Brickyard 400 qualifiers, placing second and third, it has set the stage for an intense competition between the two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However, Tyler Reddick will be leading the pack from the front this time after winning the pole position.