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NASCAR has announced that it will suspend Chase Elliott for one race, after Elliott intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin about halfway through Monday’s Coca-Cola 600.
Hamlin and Elliott were battling for position going into Turn 4, and Hamlin squeezed Elliott against the wall. After a brief scrape, Elliott responded by hooking the back of Hamlin’s car. Both cars were taken out of the race in the collision.
In announcing the suspension, NASCAR cited several rules, including “correct and proper conduct” by drivers. Penalties can be applicable when one driver is “removing another competitor from championship contention in a dangerous manner when not racing for position based on the available evidence and specific circumstances of the incident” or committing actions “detrimental to stock car racing or NASCAR.”
In the immediate aftermath of the wreck, Hamlin compared the turn to an incident last fall at Las Vegas where Bubba Wallace deliberately turned Kyle Larson. Wallace was suspended for a race as a result of the incident.
“We understand NASCAR’s need to maintain consistency in its officiating,” Hendrick Motorsports, Elliott’s team, said in a statement. “The penalty will not be appealed, and we will submit a formal request for a playoff waiver.” Hendrick announced that Corey LaJoie will get behind the wheel of Elliott’s No. 9 this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois.
This will mark Elliott’s seventh race missed this season. The five-time Most Popular Driver missed six races earlier in the year due to injuries suffered in a snowboarding accident.
Hendrick Motorsports stated that it will apply for a waiver for Elliott to be included in NASCAR’s playoff.