Denny Hamlin will not go back-to-back in the Coca-Cola 600, after a vicious crash around the halfway point of Monday’s rain-delayed event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which started from contact with Chase Elliott.
While battling for seventh place, Hamlin and Elliott were racing door-to-door when the No. 11 Toyota Camry TRD slid up the track at the exit of four, making contact with NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver.
That’s the point in which the opinion will vary based on who you’re talking to.
Denny Hamlin will say he then got right-reared by Elliott, sending his No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry extremely hard into the frontstretch wall, obliterating the front end of the Joe Gibbs Racing entry.
Chase Elliott, on the other hand, will say that his NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet was undrivable after the wall contact, which caused him to make contact with No. 11, sending them both into the outside wall hard.
A big hit for Denny Hamlin. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Ss1FEqGYiJ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 29, 2023
Regardless of who you believe, Hamlin or Elliott, both drivers will have a poor finish in the Coca-Cola 600, as both drivers sustained damage too severe to continue in the event, which will likely put them 33rd and 34th in the running order at the end of 600 miles.