Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain have no love lost between them. The two racers have rarely seen eye-to-eye, sharing a relationship that can only be described as ‘fractured’ both on and off the track. It all began at the 2022 Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway, when Chastain bumped into Hamlin and sent him into the wall. The rivalry intensified the following year, when the No. 11 Toyota driver admitted that he intentionally wrecked the Trackhouse star in Phoenix, resulting in a $50,000 fine and a deduction of 25 driver points.

Even though years have passed since then, it looks like the ‘beef’ between the two remains. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran called out Chastain at the 2025 Jack Link’s 500, criticizing his reckless driving style at Talladega Superspeedway.

Denny Hamlin struggled to keep up at Talladega

The tension was high going into the ‘Dega’, a track notorious for its high banks and multi-car wrecks. Even though the Cup Series race at the superspeedway was a relatively civil affair, there was an underlying tension after an old rivalry was reignited once again. It all began when Carson Hocevar was ahead of Denny Hamlin coming out of the green flag stops. As they sped and caught up with Cody Ware and Ross Chastain, the No. 1 Chevy made a nasty block on Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, a move that didn’t go down well with the veteran driver at all.

Venting out his frustration during the Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin said, “I’m a little frustrated by it because I’ve seen it a little out of control. I would like to see something be said about the unsafe merging that drivers are doing intentionally to block upcoming cars that are approaching them. They are not up to speed yet. We got this line of cars going, and they’re like, ‘I’m just going to swerve back and forth until somebody checks up or gets crashed.’ That’s bulls—- racing.”

Despite qualifying in 13th place, Hamlin made a strong start when the race began, quickly climbing track positions and finishing sixth by the end of Stage 1. However, as the race progressed, the veteran struggled to keep up, partly because he felt that Ross Chastain disrupted his race strategy by making a reckless block, which could have potentially caused a wreck. Visibly upset, the Florida native asked some ‘real’ questions to the sanctioning body, saying, “I don’t know why in NASCAR if you can have someone black flag for forcing you below the yellow line to stop them from passing you, why can’t we stop the guy that is swerving at 150 miles an hour when the pack is coming at 190, trying to cause a wreck?”

Hamlin’s disdain for Chastain’s move stems from what the latter would have done if roles were reversed. Chastain put in a bad block, and Hamlin lifted at the right moment to avoid a wreck. Would Ross have done the same? Producer on the show, Travis Rockhold added, “Had Denny not made the move, we would have had this massive crash that would have been awful for the race.” Hamlin said he spoke to Chastin after the race and “threw him a theoretical,” saying, “Roles reversed, if you [Ross Chastain] had a decision to make. If I threw that block on you and put you to a decision, what would you do? Lift? Or would you say ‘Sorry Denny, you made a stupid a– block. You gotta pay for that.'” Hamlin shrugged his shoulders as he was visibly upset at Chastain’s antics.

Not one to sugarcoat his words, Denny Hamlin pointed fingers in the post-race interview as well, going on to say, “I didn’t know how far up we were actually going to be able to get, but certainly the 1 [Chastain] making a move there to kind of wreck us was not ideal.” Eventually, the No. 11 Toyota driver was forced to settle for a 21st-place finish, a disappointing outcome under the circumstances. Having finished top five in his last four Cup Series races, the Talladega outcome was a bitter pill to swallow. However, the veteran will look to make amends in Texas next week to get back to winning ways.

Trending

1

Rick Hendrick’s Insider Gives a List of Demands as Mind-Numbing Talladega Exposes NASCAR

2

Bubba Wallace Rubs Salt on Joey Logano’s Wound Amidst Troubling Talladega Result

3

NASCAR Community Gangs Up on Pundit as They Shame “Boring” Talladega Outing

4

“Straight Up Race Manipulation” – Fans Accuse NASCAR of Cheating After Controversial Talladega Photo Finish

5

Richard “The King” Petty Scrutinizes NASCAR’s “Nicky-Picky” Antics Against the Unpopular Joey Logano

Steve Letarte defends Chastain’s controversial move

Ross Chastain has mellowed down. A few years ago, the Florida native made plenty of headlines for all the wrong reasons after being involved in multiple incidents, particularly with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. Eventually, Rick Hendrick was forced to intervene and issued a public warning to the Trackhouse Racing driver by saying, “If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back.” It’s a warning that worked as Chastain’s on-track incidents reduced, but the driver also seemed to be fading into obscurity.

However, the Talladega incident with Denny Hamlin brought back memories of Ross Chastain’s ‘bad boy’ era. Not everyone had a problem with his ‘move’, with Steve Letarte saying on Inside the Race, “I don’t have a problem with what Chastain is doing here, actually. That’s exactly what you should do. That’s the defensive move; nobody wrecked. I’m sure Denny’s not happy with him, but I’m sure Denny would have done the same thing if he was in Ross’ spot. So, I’m okay with it, but that, I think, is what derailed the Toyota strategy.”

It’s a move Denny Hamlin won’t forget anytime soon. The two have had a ‘feud’ once before, with either driver taking turns to retaliate against each other on the track. Considering the events at Talladega Superspeedway, could history repeat itself once again? Time will tell. However, the Trackhouse Racing driver will be watching his back in the upcoming races, fearing a potential retribution from the veteran racer.