Denny Hamlin claims Ross Chastain might not make it out of R-16, insists he ‘isn’t hating’ on the Trackhouse driver
Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastin had some wild run-ins in the Next-Gen era.
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Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin (Via IMAGO)
Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin has predicted that Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain might not make it out of the first round of the 2023 post-season. The Toyota and Chevy driver has a controversial past that includes multiple incidents since the start of the Next-Gen car era. But Hamlin insists that this has nothing to do with their past conflicts.
The 2023 season so far hasn’t been the best for the No:1 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver. He has won just one race compared to two in the 2022 regular season. Chastain had 14 top-10 finishes from the 26 traditional season races, and he secured his maiden Championship-4 entry. He has scored just nine top 10s so far in the 2023 season from the first 26 races.
He hasn’t secured a top-five finish since his win at Nashville. So, going into the post-season, he doesn’t have the best momentum, and his teammate Daniel Suarez missing out on the last 16 is also a demotivating factor for the team. Hamlin has identified Chastain and HMS’s Kyle Larson as the top drivers in danger in the first playoff round. Hamlin insists that his prediction is solely based on recent performance.
“I’m not hating on him, but I’m just going to say Ross. They just haven’t been strong. They don’t make — he doesn’t make a whole lot of mistakes, though. He doesn’t get caught up in a lot of wrecks; that probably counters that argument. But I would say he’s been the weakest of this Top 8 that I’m looking at,” Hamlin said in his Action Detrimental podcast.
“I’m thinking about the tracks. Either [Kyle] Larson or Ross. Only just because I don’t think any of these guys don’t make it, but it’d be Larson or Ross, simply from the performance perspective of Ross. Eh. It’s just been eh. His win at Nashville was dominating,” Hamlin added.
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Denny Hamlin casts doubts on Kyle Busch’s playoff chances
Hamlin’s co-host Jared Allen, while starting the discussion about the potential driver going to make an early exit, said that the 23XI Racing’s co-owner, former teammate Kyle Busch, and current teammate Christopher Bell are in danger as well. Hamlin agrees with the take to a certain limit.
He pointed out that Kyle Busch had been at his best in the final few races of the regular season and pointed out that the two-time Cup champion might exit earlier. But Busch has solid playoff points in his bag after the three race wins of the season; hence, only a streak of poor runs can bring him down.
“I would not disagree with that because he has been hot and cold. The guy could win all three races, and nobody would be surprised. Or he could have mistakes or trouble. I think the tracks lay out too good for him to be the guy who misses in the first round,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin claimed that Bell’s clutch performance history gives him an advantage to go deep in the playoffs. He said, “Man, Christopher Bell lived on nine lives last year, right? He was struggling to make it in the Round of 8 and ended up making the Final Four because he won. He was so far in the standings.”
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Justin P Joy
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