Denny Hamlin calls out Ross Chastain over “bulls—- racing” at Talladega

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin has come out calling out Ross Chastain for aggressive racing at Talladega Superspeedway.

Denny Hamlin calls out Ross Chastain over “bulls—- racing” at Talladega

Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain (Via IMAGO)

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain seems to be incapable of stop having beefs between them for more than a couple months. The Next-Gen era rivalry story between the two witnessed another chapter this week at Talladega, when the No:1 Chevy driver pulled a wild block of the Toyota draft pack.

Denny Hamlin was infuriated with the sudden block, as it came when they were racing at 190mph while Ross Chastain was racing at 150mph, the perfect combination for a big wreck. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, he showed his frustration and proclaimed that the unsafe merging needs to be addressed by NASCAR.

I’m a little frustrated by it because I’ve seen it a little out of control. I would like to see something be said about the unsafe merging that drivers are doing intentionally to block upcoming cars that are approaching them.

Denny Hamlin said via Actions Detrimental.

Further talking about the issue, Hamlin pointed out that it was bulls—- racing from the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran and something needs to do by NASCAR to make sure drivers don’t make such moves. He later suggested something like black flagging such moves like they do with crossing the yellow line is a solution, though it is extreme.

They are not up to speed yet. We got this line of cars going, and they’re like, ‘I’m just going to swerve back and forth until somebody checks up or gets crashed.’ That’s bulls—- racing.

Denny Hamlin added.

Steve Letarte defends Ross Chastain over the drama

Talking about the point, Steve Letarte shared his thoughts on Ross Chastain’s move and defended him, asserting he did exactly what he was supposed to do. He highlighted how it was a proper defensive move, since nobody wrecked. Addressing Hamlin’s comments, Letarte asserted that the TRD driver would have done the same at the moment.

Steve Letarte
Steve Letarte (Via IMAGO)

That’s exactly what you should do. That’s the defensive move; nobody wrecked. I’m sure Denny’s not happy with him, but I’m sure Denny would have done the same thing if he were in Ross’ spot. So, I’m okay with it, but that, I think, is what derailed the Toyota strategy.

Denny Hamlin said.

The NASCAR veteran seems to indicate that Hamlin is bitter over the Chevy driver ruining Toyota’s drafting strategy. It would be interesting to see how the rivalry dynamic between Hamlin and Chastain is going to playout in the future over the recent run-ins.

Also Read: Bubba Wallace takes a sly dig at Joey Logano over Talladega radio meltdown