What happens when two of the most polarizing drivers in NASCAR tango on a road course? It warrants a whole lot of eyes is what it does. And that is exactly what happened, as Ross Chastain sent Kyle Busch spinning on the very last lap of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

Racing for a Top-5 after what seemed like an eternity, Busch got ‘Chastain’d’ out of Turn 4A, simultaneously extending his winless streak to the 37th week. After the dust settled on the Wine Country’s wild ride, the Melon Man grabbed that much-needed P5 spot, whereas ‘Rowdy’ missed the top 10 by only two positions. Frustrated by another gloomy outing for her husband, even Samantha Busch chastised Chastain. Faced with disappointments of his own at Sonoma, Denny Hamlin added his voice to the chorus. And it seems like he’s siding with his former JGR teammate over Ross Chastain.

Denny Hamlin weighs in on Ross Chastain’s bump-and-run on Kyle Busch

Most opine that the Melon Man bumped Kyle Busch out of Top 5 contention. Speaking to FOX post-race, Chastain claimed total sincerity: “I’m not sure what happened with the 8, either.” The situation in itself is barely that simple. Trailing the #8 RCR Chevy, Chastain made a thunderous advance behind Busch’s car on Turn 4A, hoping to overtake him there. But a subsequent update read, “Ross Chastain says he locked up the tires and hit Kyle Busch.”

This irked Samantha Busch quite a bit. She came to Kyle’s defense with a condescending tweet targeting Chastain. Quoting him, she wrote, “‘Locked up my tires,’ aka overdrove the corner,” along with a GIF that read, “Schmuck.” This brought forth something else. Denny Hamlin questioned it best on the Actions Detrimental podcast as he told co-host Jared Allen, “I knew that a Top 5 was on the line, and honestly, other than driver ego, what’s the difference between 5th and 6th? It’s one point, but I just knew that the #1 was going to go for it.”

After ending his day on Lap 3 due to a blown engine, Hamlin kept up with the action through the live timings. Based on what he gathered through that data in the last lap, he said, “What we don’t know is: Was Kyle running out of gas, and then one car panicked and overdrove the corner?” Further explaining his thought process, the #11 driver added, “He was two car lengths behind, entering Turn 4. There is no rhyme or reason you should even be close to being beside somebody in the middle of Turn 4.”

Concluding his sentiments, Denny Hamlin concurred with the first lady of the Busch household – albeit with some confusion on the follow-up: “You might close it to one car length if you really drive it in. There’s no rhyme or reason [Chastain] should have been beside the #8 unless he entirely missed the corner by a mile, or the #8 had stumbling issues.” Chastain did say he locked up, per the aforementioned update, which could’ve been why he missed the corner and drove straight into Busch. But Samantha wasn’t convinced.

When they brought up her tweet on the podcast, Jared Allen cheekily said, “She was watching the same broadcast we were watching.” As for Denny Hamlin, he reiterated himself. “The #1 blew the corner, no matter how you look at it. He wasn’t going to [make the overtake]. He drove up way beyond the rumbles, and there’s no disputing that. It’s just a matter of: Did Kyle not help his own cause by running out in that spot.” Kyle Busch was instead frustrated for not claiming the finish he “deserved.”

However, some would agree that turning a P29 starting spot into a P12 was quite a positive result, considering a dismal 2024 season overall for Richard Childress Racing. Nevertheless, they weren’t the only former champions struggling big-time at Sonoma. Joe Gibbs Racing’s woes were similar to those faced by RCR.

A repaved track throws a curveball for the bigger teams

Trending

NASCAR RUMOR: Spire Motorsports Poaches Brad Keselowski’s Investment With Potential Championship Winning Partnership

“America Has Won”—Fans Refuse to Let Go of Richard Childress’ Star’s Hate Train Amidst Watkins Glen Disaster

NASCAR Rumor: Spire Motorsports’ Reject Hoping to Rely on France Family’s Mercy for His FRM Return

Michael Jordan & Co’s Rebellion Left Hanging as ‘Silent’ NASCAR Worsens Bubba Wallace’s Career Fears

Former KBM Driver Bubba Wallace Reveals Kyle Busch’s True Colors: “May Come Off as Being…an A**hole”

Denny Hamlin’s #11 Camry XSE was only the first casualty at Sonoma. Following this incident, his young teammate, Ty Gibbs, had another incident around Turn 1, where the #54 Toyota came loose to hit the wall around Lap 16. Even #20 driver Christopher Bell got caught up in a mid-race pileup involving SHR’s Josh Berry and about half a dozen other cars. Bell, however, recovered and finished the race in P10 as the highest-finishing JGR car.

That accolade would have belonged to Martin Truex Jr if his #19 had not run out of gas on the final lap while running P2, right behind race winner Kyle Larson. Likewise, all three of Richard Childress’ Chevys faced disaster at Sonoma. It all started in qualifying for full-time Supercars road-course ringer Will Brown, who faced an ECU issue with his part-time #33 ride. Although Brown seemed to recover in the early stages, his car faced electrical problems throughout, hindering his performance to a meager P31 finish.

Brown’s full-time RCR teammate, Austin Dillon, started his race a little better in P16. But the same incident that failed to claim Christopher Bell resulted in Dillon’s #3 Camaro ZL1 ending its day with a disappointing DNF at P36, only beating Hamlin and Ty Gibbs. As for Ross Chastain, he may have finished one spot better than he did if not for another one of those bump-and-runs by Chase Elliott.

In the end, the repaved Sonoma was a true wild card, especially for teams like Joe Gibbs and Richard Childress Racing. Will the Iowa Speedway topple the charts with its Cup Series debut?