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Denny Hamlin reveals source of frustration surrounding lack of Ross Chastain, Joey Logano knowledge

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones10/07/25brianjones_93
Denny Hamlin
Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Denny Hamlin wished he knew more about the situation with Ross Chastain and Joey Logano during the final laps of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Charlotte. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin talked about the lack of information he received about Chastain battling for the final playoff spot before the two drivers collided.

“First of all, I don’t know that he’s desperate,” Denny Hamlin said about Ross Chastain. “No one told me to be careful. He needs your spot to get in. If that would have been the case, I would have just drove in way deeper to then avoid getting hit. But I just p***y footed into the corner, because I’m like I just want to make the corner and get to the checkered flag. He’s not even close to me.”

Hamlin continued, “Well, he dives it in with reckless abandon, knowing that this is the only chance I got, and he gets there. And so, I got wiped out, and I didn’t even know or why, because I don’t recall being told anything about he’s diving in there, he’s almost there. I just had silence.”

Denny Hamlin said the wreck with Ross Chastain ‘whiplashed’ him

Hamlin also said that he was surprised that he got hit by Chastain, as it “whiplashed” him. And when speaking to his team after the race, he was told that Chastain needed to make that move to advance to the Round of 8 of the playoffs.

The move didn’t work as Chastain was eliminated, and Logano moved on. Hamlin may not have liked getting hit by Chastain, but he was already in the next round of he playoffs. In fact, the three-time Daytona 500 winner enters the Round of 8 as the leader in playoff points and eight points above the cut line.

After the race, Chastain reacted to hitting Hamlin and being eliminated from the playoffs. “When you watch and you learn and you study for half your life to get here and to fail is a terrible feeling right now, and I will wake up tomorrow and go right back to work,” Chastain told NBC Sports. “That doesn’t make it any better for our partners and for all of my teammates that are really upset with me right now. I know the 11 (Hamlin) is mad. I’m sure I would be too.”