“He wakes up pissed!” Denny Hamlin exposes Chase Briscoe’ crew chief’s conflict with NASCAR officials at Atlanta

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin has revealed how Chase Briscoe’s crew chief’s confrontation of NASCAR officials over car damage and DNF.

“He wakes up pissed!” Denny Hamlin exposes Chase Briscoe’ crew chief’s conflict with NASCAR officials at Atlanta

Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin (Via @NASCAR and @JoeGibbsRacing/X)

Just like Denny Hamlin who caused the big one at Atlanta, his teammate Chase Briscoe was the victim of circumstances this weekend. The No:19 Toyota driver who came into the week with strong momentum following his maiden Joe Gibbs Racing Cup race win coming the week before at Pocono was among the unlucky bunch.

James Small, the crew chief of the No:19 team, found himself in a big fiasco after the incident and veteran racer Denny Hamlin revealed details of it in the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast. Everything went south, when Chase Briscoe’s car was getting fixed after getting damaged in the track.

While the team was working on the car, NASCAR officials told the crew chief to park their car, and they were done for the race. The crew was working on the vehicle for the last one hour, when they were approached. They were told they can’t continue racing as one part of the car was bent and it wasn’t replaceable.

I saw James Small and one of the head NASCAR officials nose to nose when they told him he was done. They had been working on that 19-car for an hour. He must have told James that they were done because something was bent that is not replaceable.

Denny Hamlin said via Actions Detrimental.

This pissed of the team leader Small who was doing everything with his team to make sure they can get back on the track and at least savage some points. But when they were denied this opportunity despite their hard work, the crew chief was left furious. The emotion is understandable considering the situation.

When I pulled in, the NASCAR officials were kind of all over the car. …They worked for a solid hour before they were told, ‘No, you’re done.’ James Small was pissed, I mean pissed.

Denny Hamlin asserted.

Denny Hamlin shares his thoughts on James Small’s character

James Small has been working for Joe Gibbs Racing for many years and was the crew chief of Martin Truex Jr. till his retirement, before welcoming Briscoe to the team as replacement. Denny Hamlin had a lot of time in these years to observe how the crew chief operates.

Denny Hamlin (via Getty)
Denny Hamlin (via Getty)

He pointed out that, Small has a likable attitude and personality, as he is a very competitive person that often perceived as always been pissed. Hamlin also talked about the damages to the No:19 car and admitted that he didn’t find any major damages the called for such an action.

I think he wakes up pissed. I love his attitude, personally. He’s awesome. I looked at the 19-car, I was very surprised to see them towed into the garage. It looked fine to me. I don’t know what all they had damaged, but it was something that was catastrophic, apparently.

Denny Hamlin added.

The character Hamlin explained has been both good and bad for James Small. While it helps him to lead his team efficiently, there has been times where he feuded with them as well. Truex Jr. has even called out his crew chief on team radio during a race in the past. But it seems the dynamic between Briscoe and Small is bit different, yielding them more good results.

Also Read: “I Have Really Thick Skin!” Denny Hamlin Responds to Drama Over Ty Dillon’s Epic Jibe at Him