Chase Elliott ran out of fuel during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, essentially ending his team’s bid at a victory.
Of course, Denny Hamlin has an opinion on the matter. He was befuddled by the situation, and called out Elliott’s entire team for the mistake, wondering how it was able to happen.
“I wanted to get educated on, I needed to know exactly what was said, so I went back and I listened to the audio of the communication, and he said, ‘We’re going to run about ten laps,’ and again, I’m paraphrasing, this is not going to be exact word-for-word, but we’re going to get the points. ‘We’re going to run about ten laps, and then you’re going to go to your switch.’ Your switch is switching from Pump A to Pump B, Pump 1 or Pump 2. So basically, run this thing out of gas. The minute you hear it running out of gas, or feel it running out of gas, go to your switch. Then I want you to come the third time by,” prefaced Hamlin, via his Actions Detrimental podcast. “It’s hard not to throw someone under the bus here, except for the entire team.
“People want to pin this on (Crew Chief) Alan Gustafson. You can try. And he’s the leader. He’s responsible. But where’s Chase Elliott in this? I mean, he’s experienced enough. If (Hamlin’s Crew Chief) Chris Gabehart said to me, ‘Flip your switch and then come third time by,’ I immediately would’ve said, ‘That’s not right.’ I immediately would’ve said, ‘That’s not right. It’s not third time. I can’t go that far. I know I cannot got that far.’ That’s just, that’s elementary.”
Alas, Hamlin wants to know why nobody believed the three laps comment was alarming, and even called out Hendrick Motorsports as a whole for not catching it.
“So they said it multiple times, and why was it not a red flag to anyone that was hearing it? They have a war room of people that listen to the communication, as well. Where is the button where someone’s saying, ‘Did he just say third time by? Can we roll that back?’ Because that’s what they would do. ‘Hey Alan, that’s not right. He needs to come next time.’ I just find it some extremely bizarre,” added Hamlin. “Not Chase, not Alan, not anyone who heard that communication multiple times, did not raise their hand and say, ‘Are we sure our math is correct?’ Because it’s three times worse than it should be.
“Like there’s no way. You’d be lucky to go a lap. So it’s hard not to throw one person under the bus, because you can’t. It’s everyone’s fault.”
Due to the mistake, along with myriad factors, Chase Elliott now faces a win-or-go-home scenario at Daytona, as it pertains to the playoffs. With his back against the wall, it’ll be fascinating to watch the former NASCAR Cup Series champion battle for his spot.
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