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Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott in Phoenix.
Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott have a history in the NASCAR Cup Series. The pair put together a significantly different and much friendlier chapter in qualifying for the July 20 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, and it was all the result of a lost role.
This happens after both drivers have completed their initial qualifying laps, moved forward and waited. to make His top 10 qualifying laps. NBC’s Kim Coon caught up with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and asked him what happened to the Hendrick Motorsports driver just minutes earlier.
“And we ended up seeing an exchange between him and Chase (Elliott) in pit “The path of something. What is it?” the reporter asked.
“Dude, decent guy,” Hamlin said of Elliott. “I guess one of the 2,311 guys pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket that had information on it and gave it to me to give to those guys.”
As Hamlin spoke, footage aired showing a couple of Tyler Reddick’s team members jogging. opposite side, the opposite address and alone After passing the 2020 champion, he crouched down, turned around to see where the paper came from, then picked up what looked like a card and handed it to Hamlin, who was standing just a few feet away.
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin battle for first place at the Brickyard 400
Minutes after Elliott handed the piece of paper with the exclusive information back to Hamlin, both drivers climbed into their cars for one last attempt at first place.
The three-time Daytona 500 champion was the fifth of 10 drivers to take part in the second qualifying lap around the iconic 2.5-mile track and posted a time of 49.589 seconds, putting him in the lead with five cars to go.
Four cars later and in ninth place out of ten, the #9 car took to the track and narrowly edged out Hamlin with a time of 49.504. However, ironically, the tenth and final driver of the second session was Tyler Reddick. The #45 driver was incredibly fast around the track and when he crossed the finish line, he set the fastest time of 49.469 to take the pole position.
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin have a history
Elliott’s confrontation with Hamlin comes more than a year after an ugly incident at Charlotte during the Coca-Cola 600, when the HMS driver didn’t like the No. 11 driver’s performance and responded by intentionally hooking him, sending his Toyota into the wall at high speed. The next week, NASCAR gave the No. 9 driver a one-race suspension.
But that wasn’t the first time the two had a fight. togetherThat happened in 2017, when Elliott was leading the fall race at Martinsville with three laps to go and seemed destined for his first career Cup win. Hamlin, however, who on the rear bumper of number 24, leads to the rear of car, and threw it over the rails towards the wall.
During the post-race cool-down, Elliott appeared displeased and hit the JGR car several times. But that was just the beginning. Minutes later, the young driver confronted the veteran in a heated exchange of words.
In times of battle and heightened emotions, drivers do and say things that are not like them. They are human too.
In Indianapolis, by qualifying for one of the sport’s biggest races, both showed that while they are fierce competitors, they also respect each other and their teams.
And it’s a joy to witness that.
