“Never f***ing touched him!” Dale Earnhardt Jr. SLAMS Denny Hamlin for racing Chase Elliott soft
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shared his feelings about Denny Hamlin racing clean against Chase Elliott.
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Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Chase Elliott (Via IMAGO)
The 2025 NASCAR Cup season had an impressive start to the year with Chase Elliott securing The Clash win at Bowman Gray Stadium, leading over 171 laps. He had to fend of the strong challenge from 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney and three times Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin to secure the win at the Madhouse.
One of the highlights of the day was Chase Elliott’s aggressive move on Denny Hamlin to take the lead. But fans were surprised to see Hamlin, who never hesitate to be aggressive, deciding to race the No:9 Chevy clean. This didn’t sit well with Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he called out the JGR veteran for being soft.
I didn’t want Chase to get spun out, but Chase didn’t get roughed up for the win. Chase kind of leaned on [Hamlin] a little bit, and then Denny just fell in behind him. Next corner, never f***ing touched him. I’m like ‘What are we doing?’
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dale Jr. Download.
He pointed out that no one wanted Denny Hamlin to be soft while racing and they came to Madhouse expecting some drama, with Hamlin being the last guy they expected not to be aggressive. Further talking about the point, the veteran asserted that the new generation of racers have shifted towards racing clean.
That’s not what anybody that bought a f***ing ticket to the place wanted. That to me is nothing we can really do about. We can’t really fix that…The driver mentality over the last several decades has shifted toward racing a lot more clean.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.
Denny Hamlin explains why he didn’t moved Chase Elliott out
In the Actions Detrimental podcast, Denny Hamlin explained why he decided to race Chase Elliott clean despite having the opportunity to get him out of the way. He thought he had the chance to naturally take back the lead, but unfortunately the No:9 car was better in the long run.
I should have, in hindsight — I was like, I should have just kind of moved him out of the way, like he moved me out of the way, but I was like, I don’t know. I just thought, ‘It’s all right, I’m good enough — I’m good enough to get them the natural way,’ but I wasn’t. And then once I sat back there, I just — I lost the grip in the car, and those guys just pulled away.
Denny Hamlin said.
The JGR veteran did the right thing by racing clean, but at the same time it wasn’t something the fans wants Hamlin to do. It would be interesting to see if the No:11 Toyota driver is going remain as aggressive as he usually is or would he race clean in the 2025 season.
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Justin P Joy
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