Denny Hamlin Takes Out Ross Chastain on Way to NASCAR Cup Win at Pocono

Photo credit: Icon Sportswire – Getty Images

Denny Hamlin got the first two of his 49 career NASCAR Cup Series victories at Pocono Raceway in his Rookie of the Year season of 2006. To say he has a rare fondness for the 2.5-mile, three-sided track in northeastern Pennsylvania is among the understatements of the year. (Hardly anyone else expresses any fond for it).

So, it should come as no surprise that after winning the pole on Saturday for the M&M’s 400 on Sunday, the future Hall of Fame driver for Joe Gibbs Racing got his record-setting seventh Pocono victory in convincing fashion.

In what may well have been a preview of the final rounds of the upcoming 10-race Championship Playoff Series, Hamlin easily handled JGR teammate Kyle Busch at the end and—in a preview of a different sort—wrecked second-running Ross Chastain in the final laps as they contested the lead.

Clearly, Hamlin ran Chastain up the track exiting Turn 2 on lap 142 of 160. Chastain hit the outside wall, lost forward motion, then drifted to the left. There, he was rammed by Kevin Harvick – in the front pack, he was innocent of any malicious intent – and knocked to the apron, uninjured but done for the day.

That late caution set up the ninth and last restart with 13 laps remaining and threatening weather on the way. Hamlin and Busch quickly pulled away from Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and fifth-running Daniel Suarez and were unchallenged the rest of the way. There were some coming and going moments down the stretch, creating a final top-10 of Hamlin, Busch, Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Suarez, Bell, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., and Bubba Wallace.

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Xfinity Series star Ty Gibbs finished a lead-lap 18th in his Cup Series debut a day after finishing second to Noah Gragson in the track’s Xfinity race. The 19-year-old subbed for Kurt Busch, whose concussion-like symptoms hadn’t cleared enough for him to run the 400. He crashed hard Saturday in Cup qualifying and was grounded by doctors after a Sunday morning examination.

Photo credit: Tim Nwachukwu – Getty Images

With the Chastain/Hamlin incident the only untoward moment of the race, it’s understandable that both drivers would be asked about it. It’s just as understandable that neither answered with his best shot. You get the feeling both realize they’re very public St. Louis and Atlanta feud isn’t over

“I mean, what did you want me to do?” Hamlin said, seemingly frustrated and irritated at the perfectly reasonable question. “What did you expect me to do? We got position on him, and he just ran out of race track. We’re just going to keep racing hard until we get the respect back from these guys. It’s not just that, we’ve been wrecked four times, twice while leading in the last 10 months. I’m at the end of it.”

Chastain didn’t seem overly-concerned about what happened as he raced for the lead. He has often spoken harshly about himself and his aggressive driving style, especially in light of recent high-profile incidents with Hamlin, Elliott, and McDowell. His brief post-Pocono comments left much unsaid.

“It was something that has been owed to me for a few months now,” he said after a rare DNF. “I’m proud of the effort by Trackhouse Racing and everybody on this No. 1 Chevy. It’s week- in and week-out that we keep bringing fast Chevy Camaros. To keep bringing bullets like that and keep bringing fast cars is a testament to everybody at Chevrolet.”

Despite starting from the pole, Hamlin didn’t lead until nine others had been at the front. Busch led 63 laps, Larson 18, Chastain 16, Bell 14, and Erik Jones 11. Hamlin led twice for 21 laps, including the final 18. The other 17 laps went to Ryan Blaney, Harrison Burton, Wallace, and Truex Jr.

The tour goes to Indianapolis next weekend for the 22nd of the year’s 26 regular-season races. The 10-race Playoff Series begin at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Sept. 4. Sunday’s race at Pocono did nothing substantial to alter the tentative 16-driver Playoff field.

NASCAR Cup Series Race

49th Annual M&Ms Fan Appreciation 400

Pocono Raceway

1. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 160.

2. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 160.

3. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 160.

4. (16) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 160.

5. (9) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 160.

6. (11) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 160.

7. (4) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 160.

8. (25) Michael McDowell, Ford, 160.

9. (8) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 160.

10. (7) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 160.

11. (34) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 160.

12. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.

13. (17) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 160.

14. (18) William Byron, Chevrolet, 160.

15. (12) Aric Almirola, Ford, 160.

16. (26) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 160.

17. (13) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 160.

18. (10) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, 160.

19. (32) Cole Custer, Ford, 160.

20. (19) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 160.

21. (23) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 160.

22. (14) Joey Logano, Ford, 160.

23. (30) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 160.

24. (27) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 160.

25. (28) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 160.

26. (22) Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 160.

27. (29) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 160.

28. (36) Cody Ware, Ford, 160.

29. (24) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 160.

30. (33) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 159.

31. (5) Chris Buescher, Ford, 158.

32. (35) BJ McLeod(i), Ford, 158.

33. (20) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 154.

34. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 142.

35. (6) Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 135.

36. (31) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 35.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 122.459 mph.

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 15 Mins, 59 Secs. Margin of Victory: .927 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 9 for 37 laps.

Lead Changes: 15 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders: K. Busch 1-12;K. Larson 13-30;H. Burton # 31-34;C. Bell 35-48;K. Busch 49-64;M. Truex Jr. 65-66;R. Blaney 67-73;E. Jones 74-84;B. Wallace 85-87;K. Busch 88-122;R. Chastain 123;D. Hamlin 124-126;B. Wallace 127;R. Chastain 128-142;D. Hamlin 143-160.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch 3 times for 63 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 21 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 18 laps; Ross Chastain 2 times for 16 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 14 laps; Erik Jones 1 time for 11 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 7 laps; Harrison Burton # 1 time for 4 laps; Bubba Wallace 2 times for 4 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 2 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 5,9,11,18,99,12,43,24,19,4

Stage #2 Top Ten: 18,1,12,43,11,4,24,99,9,5