Denny Hamlin’s crew chief Chris Gayle makes his feelings known on ROVAL saga against Ross Chastain

Following an eventful elimination race at the Charlotte Roval, Denny Hamlin's crew chief, Chris Gayle, spoke about their last-lap incident with Ross Chastain. Gayle said he could've been more proactive with his driver to avoid such troubles.

For the unversed, Hamlin passed Chastain on the final lap, allowing Joey Logano to be in the position for the final transfer spot to the Round of 8. Chastain tried to take the position back on the final corner, but ended up spinning both him and Hamlin, which effectively compromised his playoff run.

When the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver found out about the points situation at the end of the race, he wished he had not passed the #1, which would have sent Logano, the defending champion, out of the playoffs. The #22 Team Penske crew chief, Paul Wolfe, criticized the statement, saying it would have been a form of race manipulation.

Chris Gayle, meanwhile, wished he had updated his driver more, specifically to avoid getting wrecked by Chastain, who was fighting for his playoff hopes. In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Gayle said:

“I didn't really bring up the points situation there late in the race, and obviously, we got wrecked on our last lap. I wish I had warned him a little more that like the #1's going to be desperate here, and he might come and wreck you.” [0:12] “But outside of that, I'm not sure what I could and shouldn't have said necessarily... whether I would've gone over the line on something or not, or if I just told him that point situation of the #1 specifically in the last couple of laps. So I just moved on from that. Wish I had warned so he'd known to get wrecked, but that's about it,” he added.

While Ross Chastain got eliminated from the playoffs, Denny Hamlin secured the top seed in the Round of 8 with an eight-point cushion above the cutline. Ryan Blaney sits in second, followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron.

The four NASCAR drivers below the cutline are Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Joey Logano, who holds a 24-point deficit heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The South Point 400 is scheduled for October 12 at 5:30 p.m. ET.

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“I need to start looking for good Christmas gifts”: Joey Logano on Denny Hamlin passing Ross Chastain at Charlotte

With Denny Hamlin essentially keeping Joey Logano’s playoff hopes alive, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion joked that he might start shopping for Christmas gifts for the #11 driver. Logano noted that if Hamlin hadn’t passed Ross Chastain, he wouldn’t have had the chance to defend his title.

Speaking with Shannon Spake on NASCAR's The Day After, the #22 Team Penske driver said:

“I think I need to start looking for good Christmas gifts for the guy... I mean, I think I should put him on the list. But yeah, I mean, that was a difference maker, right? I mean, honestly, our fate was in Denny Hamlin's hands, right? If he chose not to pass the #1, we're out.”

Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano during the 2009 NASCAR season - Source: Imagn

Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are two of the longest-tenured active drivers in NASCAR, along with Kyle Busch. Hamlin and Logano were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing for four seasons before the latter signed with Team Penske in 2013.

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Edited by Zarec Sanchez