The wreck between Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been a sensitive topic. While Hamlin is quite evidently the victim of Chase’s wrath in the incident, the right rear has divided the community. With Chase being the most popular driver since the past five years, there is no lack of support on his side. However, criticisms have not come just from the fans.

The controversial move has been ridiculed by Hendrick Motorsports legends Dale Earnhardt Jr and former crew chief Steve Letarte. In a public discussion with the fans, the HMS duo expressed their displeasure at fans siding with Elliott, calling the likes of whom—“crazy.”

He turned the h*ll out of him: Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr dissect Elliott’s deliberate wreck

Ever since NASCAR has gotten stricter on its penalty policies, suspensions and fines have become a common pattern. At Charlotte, Chase’s intentional right rear hook on Hamlin completely spun him around as he was left stranded amidst the congestion. When the topic of argument moved to this segment, Letarte did not shy away from speaking out against the message sent out by NASCAR authorities.

“Now you’re just asking the drivers to be dishonest. Now, I’ll wreck you and then get out and I’ll be like, no, I didn’t.” said Letarte. It is true that with increasing fear of penalties, the drivers might look to hide facts from the race. Junior, however, decided they should let the fans decide if it was intentional or not.

Junior enquired, “Chase wrecks Denny at Charlotte, who here thought that was intentional?”  From the looks of it, the audience seemed in favour of the 2020 champion. As they denied the allegations of a deliberate wreck, Earnhardt was not taking any of this. “How many hands think it was not on purpose? Are y’all crazy? He turned the h*ll out of him,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr after seeing so many hands in support of Chase. Letarte further affirmed Jr’s opinion. “For sure. There is no doubt.”

While the fans might favour their favorites, a 2-time Xfinity champion and a legendary crew chief surely know what actually did happen at Charlotte.

Read More: “I’ve Put Him in That Situation” – Beaten Down Chase Elliott Makes a Heartbreaking Admission About Crew Chief

Dale Jr takes the Hamlin-Elliott long-standing rivalry into account

NASCAR has witnessed many iconic rivalries in its history. Elliott and Hamlin’s encounters have been going on for quite some years. Now, Dale Earnhardt Jr cited the reason for Elliott’s move as exactly that.

Although he did not try to justify it, Earnhardt seemed to have a curiosity for understanding what could have led to this incident. Explaining his answer, he said, “But I get it, I get it. Well that was out of character a little bit. But hey, man gotta put his foot down. I’ve had enough. It ain’t the first time they had a run in. They had problems. Remember Martinsville, Phoenix years ago? So, I mean, Chase is like enough!”

Letarte has different view on the issue although. He is rooting for Chase to take accountability for his actions at Charlotte. He then also adds a character trait of NASCAR drivers who tend to remember unhealed scars form the races. “People forget that image in turn 3 after Hamlin chipped Chase. That was like, you know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. You drivers remember everything. That’s what I learnt about drivers. Like you’ll get out and they’ll start going like, well, you know, four and a half years ago…. and you just get cross-eyed, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Well, hard to argue with Steve on that one.

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