Denny Hamlin gives surprising reaction to final lap wreck with Ross Chastain at Charlotte

Denny Hamlin was the only driver standing in the way of Ross Chastain advancing to the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs in Sunday’s Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte ROVAL. Chastain had a one-point advantage over Joey Logano for the final transfer spot when the white flag came out.

With Logano owning the tiebreaker over Chastain, he could not allow another car to pass him. The first driver behind him was Hamlin, who took advantage of Chastain having limited grip, making the pass that knocked Chastain out of the playoffs. Chastain gave it one last try on the final corner, driving in deep and taking both he and Hamlin out.

Hamlin said he didn’t know the points situation on the final lap. Had he known, he might have raced Chastain differently.

“I would have made the best decision for me,” Hamlin said, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I wish I would have known. … I mean, on pace, the 1 is faster than the 22. But obviously, when it comes down to the final four, the 22’s probably got a leg up there. I didn’t know if I was running for 10th or 25th. Listening to the radio the whole time, there was just crickets. Nobody said anything, nobody told me anything. I wish they did.”

Denny Hamlin: ‘I had no idea of the points situation’

Had Hamlin known, perhaps he would have decided to do everything he could to keep Logano out. Logano is a three-time Cup champion who has won two of the last three championships. He’s always a threat to win the championship race at Phoenix Raceway when he gets there.

However, that’s not how things unfolded at the ROVAL. Logano is still alive, while Chastain’s championship hopes are finished. Hamlin spoke with Chastain after the race, clearly upset that he wasn’t aware of his points situation. He didn’t fault Chastain for taking him out on the final corner.

Chastain wishes it never came to this. Quite frankly, it shouldn’t have. Early in the race, he missed the turn at the exit of pit road. He then got caught speeding entering pit road on his last stop of the day in Stage 3. The unforced errors proved to be too much for Chastain.

“I’d restart the whole day,” Chastain said after the race when asked what he would have done differently. “For Trackhouse Racing, they expect so much more out of me. And to speed on pit road, I went off the end of pit road and didn’t turn. I had more room and just trying to get to the yellow line. and just completely started the downfall there and then came out of the pit stall and double clicked up into third [gear] and just unforced errors. It’s just terrible.

“So, it’s heartbreaking for almost 200 employees at Trackhouse, our teammates, our ECR engines. Everybody that makes this go around. Justin [Marks] hired me to carry this 1 car and to drive it and to be the leader, and I just completely unraveled our day. So, yeah, not acceptable. Like, just completely unacceptable.”