One year after Denny Hamlin’s Ross Chastain brutal retaliation, NASCAR community unearths old wounds

NASCAR opponents Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain have been feuding for over a year. Refund after refund, the rivals on the track treated fans to constant sinking drama. The feud began at the 2022 Enjoy Illinois 300, where Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain swapped paint before Hamlin’s #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota slammed into the outside wall sideways, damaging the right-rear.

The rival duo then danced the tango several times before Denny Hamlin was finally able to reimburse Ross Chastain in the 2022 Cup race at Pocono. With the 2023 Pocono 400 race fast approaching, NASCAR on NBC recently released video of the year-long Pocono feud, leading to recall from the NASCAR community and unearthing old wounds.

Denny Hamlin pays tribute to Ross Chastain

When he was thrown into the infield by Ross Chastain during the 2022 Quaker State 400 in Atlanta, Denny Hamlin was furious. Vowing revenge on his rival, Hamlin’s wishes would finally come true at the 2022 M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 Cup Series race. With 18 laps remaining of the 2022 Cup race at Pocono, Denny Hamlin was leading with Ross Chastain at the outside.

Approaching a turn, Hamlin saw an opportunity and rode high, effectively pushing Chastain’s #1 Chevy into the outside wall. Losing control, Chastain’s car veered left onto the track, before crashing into the inside wall. In the ensuing carnage, the front of Kevin Harvick’s #4 car also suffered extensive damage. Unable to continue the race, Chastain secured a 32nd place finish, while Denny Hamlin won the race. But in a surprise turn of events, Ross Chastain had the final say. During post-race inspection, officials discovered illegal modifications made to the #11 Toyota, leading NASCAR to take the win away from Hamlin. After earning a disqualification, the JGR driver’s victory was then handed to Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports.

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With NASCAR on NBC posting video of the 2022 Pocono incident on Twitter, fans quickly resorted to a dig at Denny Hamlin’s old injuries.

Fans dig up Denny Hamlin’s old wounds

Responding to the video on Twitter, a fan pointed out how Denny Hamlin’s plot to destroy Chastain backfired, writing, “Karma returned to Denny after he and Kyle Busch disqualified”. Another fan even searched Hamlin for losing his win to Chase Elliott, commenting, “Thanks for the victory Denny! » Here are some fan comments.

“Ah yeah, when Denny destroyed Ross and he still ended up behind him (skull emoji)”

“And it didn’t even matter (laughing emoji)”

“Never say ‘I have a faultless race’?”

“Ross had the last laugh when Denny was DQ (laughing emoji)”

What do you think of the Pocono incident in 2022? Do you think we’ll get something similar this season too?