Denny Hamlin sounds off on massive Chase Elliott run, Alan Gustafson taking heat after Dover

Denny Hamlin is impressed with what Chase Elliott has done over the last few weeks. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin shared his reaction to Elliott’s run that has led him to become the new NASCAR Cup Series points leader.

“Six weeks ago, he was 10th to 15th every week and then would finish in the top 10 because attrition and whatever, and now he’s leading,” Denny Hamlin said about Chase Elliott. “A lot of it is [William] Byron‘s had a very tough couple months. All of us guys at the top, there was three or four of us that had major issues. Chase doesn’t have those.”

Hamlin then asked if Elliott had a “career day” at Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday after finishing sixth. Elliott was dominant during the race despite not winning, as he led 238 of the 407 laps.

“To me it felt like one of his stronger performances,” Hamlin stated. “…I just feel as though Chase is one of those guys that leads 100-200 laps in races, right? He’ll get you really good finishes and he’ll get you some wins, but it’s not dominating.”

Denny Hamlin shares more on Chase Elliott’s run

Hamlin went on to say the “nine car was the most dominant car for the first half of the race.” It was then noted that after the Michigan Cup Series race, Elliott was 112 points back from the lead. Since then, the Georgia native has recorded three top-five finishes and a win at Atlanta to go along with his sixth-place finish at Dover.

“He’s made a massive run, and it’s not just because of this one week,” Hamlin said. “I’ve just feel like they’ve turned the corner, and they are stronger now than what they were.”

As great of a run Elliott is having, fans beleive it could be better. Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, took heat from fans after calling for Elliott to pit while leading to take two tires before the rain came in.

“That is so silly do,” Hamlin said about the Gustafson criticism. “I get it. It’s always got to be someone’s fault why you didn’t win that day. But sometimes s**t just doesn’t work out. It’s called racing.”

Elliott will look to continue his strong run on Sunday, when he and the rest of the NASCAR drivers compete in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Elliott has competed in the race seven times and has finished in the top 10 twice.