Chase Elliott Kicks Brad Keselowski Out of the Playoff Contention as Denny Hamlin Doubles Down on HMS Legends Controversial Comments

The world of NASCAR is a tale of two championships. The driver’s championship and the owner’s championship. As the former takes the spotlight, the latter is sometimes relegated to the shadows. However, recent remarks by a Hendrick Motorsports legend and Denny Hamlin have ignited a debate about the significance of the owner’s championship in NASCAR. And it all ties back to the unexpected twist in the season Chase Elliott is having.

Chase Elliott, the fan-favorite and 2020 Cup Series champion, hasn’t had the kind of season he or his supporters hoped for. Despite his undeniable talent, Elliott found himself outside the playoff picture. As other drivers grabbed the headlines, he quietly pursued another prize. One that doesn’t receive as much attention but is integral to NASCAR teams. The owner’s championship.

Denny Hamlin shares the same views as Jeff Gordon on the owners’ championship as Chase Elliott kicks Brad Keselowski out of contention

Jeff Gordon, a legend in the Hendrick Motorsports stable, sparked the conversation. During a recent interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Gordon voiced his opinion that NASCAR should give the owner’s championship more recognition. He emphasized, “We have Chase Elliott. He is in on the owner, which, by the way, a lot of people aren’t focused on. And I know they did not have a great year, but they’re doing what they need to do right now.”

Gordon’s viewpoint resonates with Formula 1, where a constructor’s championship recognizes team efforts. He suggested that NASCAR should follow suit and acknowledge the contributions of teams in addition to celebrating drivers. However, this did not sit well with NASCAR fans as they called out Jeff Gordon for only saying this because one of his own drivers was in the owner’s fight.

The debate took an intriguing turn when Denny Hamlin, the star driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, discussed the topic on his podcast. Hamlin delved into the implications of Chase Elliott’s actions on the owner’s championship, particularly in relation to RFK owner Brad Keselowski.

He noted that Chase Elliott’s performance in the playoffs, although he wasn’t competing as a championship contender, was pivotal for Rick Hendrick‘s team. Elliott’s consistent efforts put him in fourth place in the owner’s championship standings. Meanwhile, Keselowski, who was originally in the contention, found himself out and about in 9th.

Denny Hamlin explained, “Chase is performing well in the playoffs. He’s not in it as a driver, but he’s battling for Rick Hendrick. And so, he is doing that #9 car well. And he’s fourth. How many is he up?”

Jared, Hamlin’s co-host, chimed in with the statistics, “It just says minus 56.” Hamlin elaborated, “Okay, so actually what you’re saying then is Keselowski is out in the owner. This means a lot to RFK, I can tell you, they’re probably looking at the owner’s points over the driver’s points.”

After talking about the positions in the owner’s championship for a few drivers like Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin concluded, “So yeah, we got some storylines here. Cars that are in, cars that are out. Chase doesn’t have a yellow spoiler, but he’s in. His car’s in. A lot of money being exchanged hands here… That people don’t know about… that it may not mean a lot to you, but it means a lot to others. So, we’ll see how that plays out.”

Watch This Story: NASCAR community holds Tony Stewart guilty as Chase Elliott Takes HMS Across the Line

Denny finds himself in a strong position to move on to the Round of 8 with a 50-point cushion over the cutline. However, his day at Talladega was not as smooth as he would have wanted.

Denny Hamlin had a painful day at Talladega despite finishing an impressive P3

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At Talladega Superspeedway, Hamlin faced a familiar challenge. Pit-road speeding penalties. It was his fourth such penalty of the season, a frustrating setback for the veteran driver. Lap 105 of stage 2 saw Hamlin receive the dreaded penalty, relegating him a lap down. The situation was far from ideal, and Hamlin acknowledged that it was a painful experience.

During the post-race interviews at Talladega, he described the moments following the penalty, saying, “It happened at Daytona. We had a pit road penalty at Daytona, went a lap down, and I watched the rest of the race for the last 100 laps. The experience is painful, it’s brutal. You’re just saying every lap, ‘please, please, a caution.’ Fortunately, there was one, and we weren’t in the wreck. That was good fortune for us.”

Despite the setbacks, Hamlin battled his way back to secure a remarkable fourth-place finish (later promoted to 3rd). His performance catapulted him into a third place in the playoffs standings with a 50-point advantage.

READ MORE: Will Denny Hamlin Finally Win That Elusive NASCAR Cup Series Title?

What are your thoughts on the owner’s championship debate and Denny Hamlin’s strong playoff performance?