Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott have had their fair share of exchanges on the track. The Coca-Cola 600 in May was just another chapter in their history. However, the events during the Brickyard 400 weekend may have brought them together. Not only did Elliott’s gesture of sportsmanship earn praise from Hamlin, but they also found common ground in sharing their frustrations with NASCAR.

In a tale of two races, Kyle Larson’s thrilling victory at the Brickyard 400 starkly contrasted with Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott’s fortunes. The two drivers found themselves hindered by the very same track and the very same roadblocks that Larson conveniently dodged.

Speaking of Kyle Larson’s run, with 30 laps to go in the 160-lap race, he found himself in 23rd place. However, he quickly started his charge through the field. In just 10 laps, he gained 13 positions, moving up to 10th place in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. As Brad Keselowski led and Ryan Blaney trailed just behind, Larson overtook three more cars in five laps, climbing to seventh with 15 laps left.

Two laps later, he passed Denny Hamlin to secure fifth place. But things took a dramatic turn when Daniel Hemric and John Hunter Nemechek collided entering Turn 1. The crash sent the No. 42 car careening off the inside wall and back into traffic. Hamlin, caught in the chaos, was pinned against the wall, slamming into Nemechek and ultimately finishing in 32nd place. In a race that even Denny Hamlin didn’t see coming, he had a lot to say about the challenges at the recent Brickyard 400. The biggest issue? Passing, but that’s not all.

On the July 22 episode of Actions Detrimental, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver didn’t hold back his frustration. Reflecting on his final stage exit, Hamlin revealed that he had consistently raised concerns about passing issues with NASCAR during the development of the Next-Gen car. “I asked them three times. THREE TIMES I asked, ‘Are you sure it’s right?’ Because you haven’t put it around any other cars during these pre-season testing,” the JGR driver lamented, emphasizing the lack of foresight from NASCAR officials.

In his remarks, it was obvious that the disadvantages in traffic were a problem worsened by the Next-Gen car’s design. “These Next-Gen cars are terrible in traffic. They’re the worst cars in NASCAR traffic,” Hamlin added. And just when Hamlin thought it could not get worse, the Brickyard script took a terrible turn.

Just as the Brickyard 400 was about to complete its scheduled 160 laps, a pair of late cautions slammed on the brakes, extending the race by seven laps and shattering several drivers’ hopes. But it was NASCAR’s inconsistent caution calls that really got under Hamlin’s skin – a mix of prompt punishments and puzzling leniency.

Reflecting on this, Hamlin said, “So they had roughly eight seconds to make a call there, and they did. Austin Cindric spun through the infield at Nashville, gathered up, kept going, and that was instantly a caution. This is what we’re talking about. NASCAR, this is your inconsistencies that people gripe about. They have a right to gripe because it is just so inconsistent. You can’t decide whether you want the caution or don’t want the caution. That’s the agitating part.”

All of Hamlin’s frustration stemmed from the fact that the leader on the track held a significant advantage due to the clean air, while those running behind struggled to make up ground. His struggles, however, were not unique, as his frustrations with the governing body were shared by Chase Elliott.

But apart from that the two drivers also shared a moment of respect during the Brickyard 400 qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After both drivers completed their initial qualifying runs and waited to make their top-10 qualifying laps, it was observed they had a brief exchange.

NBC’s Kim Coon asked Hamlin about what went down between the two and the 23XI co-owner revealed, “Man, a stand-up guy,” he said of Elliott. “I guess one of the 2311 guys dropped a piece of paper out of their back pocket that had some information on it and he handed it to me to give to those guys.”

Given their history, this was a moment of friendship between the two drivers. In May, NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott for one race, after he wrecked Deny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600.

But during the race at IMS, Elliott found himself in Hamlin’s shoes with NASCAR. He was furious on his radio after being informed that he was being penalized for a blend line violation following his pit stop.

No. 9’s frustration over an unknown penalty

The penalty was incurred when Elliott exited the pit road on Lap 25 and made his way to the acceleration lane. In the middle of Turns 1 and 2, Elliott’s car drifted out of the acceleration lane and over two painted white lines, with all his tires on the racing surface. While Larson followed Elliott, as per the officials, he did not venture as far as his teammate. As it seemed, Larson too had crossed the first white line and put his right-side tires on the second white line.

Expressing his frustrations on the radio, he ranted, “That’s not right. I did exactly what the (expletive) sheet said to do. They didn’t say line, they said racing surface, so you tell me how the [expletive] I was on the racing surface.”

However, Elliott’s disappointment was not solely due to the penalty itself, but rather the broader issue of passing difficulties at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He shared Hamlin’s sentiments, as evidenced by his fiery radio exchange during the race. When informed that Hamlin was struggling to pass a car running in 34th place, Elliott sarcastically responded to this chaos, saying, “If you can ship me a f***ing physics-defying button, that’d be great. Other than that, you’re f***ed.”

So in the end, it seems that both Elliott and Hamlin found themselves in a “weird spot” as Hamlin chose to describe it in his rant. Despite their long-standing rivalry, the two drivers have found common ground in their shared frustration over the passing challenges at Indianapolis.

Coming to his penalty, although he disagreed with the decision, NASCAR VP of Competition Elton Sawyer noted that NASCAR had sent additional information to competitors to help clarify any confusion stemming from the videos, which clearly stated that drivers should never venture onto the racing surface. “As you look at the video, that basically says that you have to stay in the acceleration lane there … until you exit Turn 2, then you blend up on the racetrack,” Sawyer said.

Let’s see whether these remarks will be taken into account going ahead. Do you think that NASCAR will work on their car designs? Or will there be another challenging test for these drivers on the tracks as the playoffs inch closer?