Chase Elliott suspended for Coca-Cola 600 wreck
NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott for wrecking Denny Hamlin in the Coca-Cola 600.
The sanctioning body swiftly handed down the penalty, just a day after the wreck happened. Elliott will miss one race.
Exiting turn four on lap 187, Denny Hamlin squeezed Chase Elliott up the track. Elliott hit the wall, then hooked Hamlin in the right-rear quarter panel in the dogleg. Hamlin slammed the wall hard and bounced back into Elliott.
Elliott and Hamlin fell out of the race, in 34th and 35th.
Kyle Stephens captured the images above of Denny Hamlin’s wrecked racecar from when it came to rest to when it was towed away.
NASCAR’s precedent for the suspension ironically lies with an incident involving Hamlin’s driver, Bubba Wallace, and another Hendrick driver, Kyle Larson.
Last fall at Las Vegas, Wallace hooked Larson into the frontstretch wall after Larson put him into the wall.
This is the first time NASCAR has ever suspended Elliott.
The Coca-Cola 600 was also the first time since Talladega where Hendrick Motorsports had their primary lineup racing. Now, at Gateway, they’ll go back to having at least one fill-in driver.
Hendrick Motorsports issued the following statement:
| We understand NASCAR’s need to maintain consistency in its officiating. The penalty will not be appealed, and we will submit a formal request for a playoff waiver. Corey LaJoie, 31, will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. We are grateful to Corey for stepping in and to the team at Spire Motorsports for making him available. |
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
How long is suspension????
This is total B.S. Hamlin put Elliot into the wall. Elliot bounced off and hit Hamlin. Hamlin instigated, and physics finished it. If there were to be a suspension, it should be Hamlin.