NASCAR fans are no strangers to chaos at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), and this year’s edition didn’t disappoint. The race delivered the expected drama, but the real headline came after the checkered flag. Many were curious to know how NASCAR would deal with Ross Chastain after he spun out Chase Elliott on the very first lap of the race on Turn 1.

“Got run over in the first corner. I’m curious to see it, I still haven’t seen it, to know whether or not I did something wrong. Happy to own it, but it was the first corner of the first lap.” Elliott said after the race. Fortunately, the HMS star was able to rally and finish P4 in the race and this was the reason behind his calm approach to dealing with Chastain’s antics.

There’s a history between Ross Chastain and HMS driver. And there’s a possibility that the warning by Rick Hendrick has started to fade away. Divebombing on the very first lap of the race against the #6 could’ve ended their race. It’s just tough to defend or justify what Chastain was trying to accomplish with his moves, but Denny Hamlin just seems to be doing that.

The Unlikely Defense: Hamlin’s Take on Chastain’s Silence

Chastain knew what he was trying to do by making that aggressive move on Lap 1. But when asked about his thoughts on the wreck that left Elliott spinning he resorted to silence. Only last weekend he was seen schooling Carson Hocevar at Atlanta after he ruffled a few feathers to get a career-best P2 finish. His silence was odd and it raised a few eyebrows. “This was definitely the worst move of the race,” Kevin Harvick said on the Happy Hour podcast. But, surprisingly Denny Hamlin came out in defence of his rival.

“Yeah, I’m not sure. I mean, maybe, you know, let me try to be devil’s advocate here. Maybe he’s trying to gather more information. I, I don’t know,” Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast. “I don’t know about the not commenting thing. I’ll just use a quote for Ross then. I believe he said it past weekend with regards to last week. Denny Hamlin will say about that incident, I’m disappointed, I’m just disappointed with the decision.” Hamlin had his run-in with Chastain at Pocono back in 2022 where he was tagged into the wall by the Melon Man. So it was odd to see him bat out for his frenemy after his COTA antics.

Meanwhile, Hamlin’s co-host Jared wasn’t buying it. “I mean what’s the argument as a driver to not commenting on it? He’s been all week being high and mighty upset about Carson Hocevar, who did far less to him than what he did to Chase Elliott on Sunday,” Jared pointed out, highlighting Chastain’s selective accountability issues. One thing is for certain, the No. 1 Chevy will race with a target on their back in the coming races. And they might be in the position to complain after being handed a similar treatment by the #9 or one of the HMS team members.

Hamlin’s own stance on the matter seems conflicted. He admitted, “I think, you know, it’s hard for me to judge why the no comment, but obviously as a media person like I am today, right, it’s my job to analyze and just say wish we got would have got something mad at you there.” Was Hamlin genuinely trying to see both sides or was this a subtle jab at Chastain’s refusal to address his on-track antics? After all, he knows a thing or two about making headlines with his words.

It wasn’t just Harvick who publicly slammed Chastain’s antics at COTA, even Dale Jr. ripped into the Trackhouse Racing star on the Dale Jr. Download.

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Dale Jr. demands answers from Chastain

For Jr., it wasn’t the actual move by Chastain that left him questioning Chastain’s credentials as a race car driver, but his post-race comments. Remember back in 2023 when Melon Man was candid about wrecking into Kyle Larson at Darlington Raceway? “Didn’t want to turn myself across his nose, for sure. So, not how I wanted to be standing here talking you out here and another incredible day for Trackhouse.” But his silence after the race in COTA wasn’t appreciated by Dale Jr. as he wanted him to come clean. Even if it reignited the beef with the HMS guys again.

“So Ross chose the better finishing position 12th. He chose that knowing the optics right…it looks a little chicken sh–….And then after the race, I guess he didn’t have a comment. Declined to comment. I think you got to comment. There’s no harm in it. I mean I guess you could say that ‘man messed up. I went down in the corner and my shallow entry. He was way offline and dirty racetrack down there on the inside and made a mistake. Lap one, I should know better.’ He could have said all that.” Jr. said.

It will be interesting to see how Chase Elliott or other HMS drivers deal with Chastain in the upcoming races. If anything, fans are going to be treated to another on-track rivalry.