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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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.