UPDATE #3: Denny Hamlin got his third payback of the day on Ross Chastain as Chastain was on the damage clock from the caution before. Chastain needed to make minimum speed in three green flag laps in order to continue on in the race. Hamlin did his best to get Chastain parked, but he ultimately failed.
"Did we just become best friends??" https://t.co/ORVTxYdBU5 pic.twitter.com/urtdWfrBbU
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 5, 2022
UPDATE #2: A few laps after his first attempt at retaliation, Denny Hamlin found himself in a position to impact Ross Chastain’s day yet again. And he took it.
Hamlin pinned Chastain between he and Austin Cindric. As Chastain attempted to pass Hamlin, Hamlin came to a near stop in front of Chastain, causing Chastain to lose massive amounts of time.
https://twitter.com/steveluvender/status/1533552617418276865?s=20&t=IaXGLxG9fgqwzV7dMvD-cg
UPDATE #1: Denny Hamlin took a swipe at Ross Chastain on the backstretch and nearly exacted his revenge in quick order. However, the attempt failed.
A for effort ? @dennyhamlin pic.twitter.com/NVbubXFAsm
— Davey Segal (@DaveyCenter) June 5, 2022
ORIGINAL STORY:
Ross Chastain spent the entirety of Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway at Gateway trying to get around Denny Hamlin for fourth spot.
Chastain could not pull off the pass. But at the start of Stage 2, Chastain used the chrome horn and shoved Hamlin into turn 1 on lap 66. The shove sent Hamlin hard into the outside wall, which broke his toe link.
Here is video of the incident:
"Denny is not gonna be happy about that." ?
Contact from Ross Chastain sends Denny Hamlin into the wall at Gateway. https://t.co/5AReaSwuvG pic.twitter.com/S3rwcPvwVy
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 5, 2022
Hamlin’s team was able to get the toe link replaced on pit road and met minimum speed on the next restart. As such, Hamlin is still in the race.
While the final repairs were being done, Hamlin’s team said on the radio, “Put the tire on and go destroy that mother fucker.”
Hamlin team: "Put a tire on it and go destroy that mother fucker." #NASCAR
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) June 5, 2022
So, there’s a chance we haven’t seen the end of this rivalry for today.
