Did Denny Hamlin play a role in Chase Elliott's playoff crash at Bristol?

Chase Elliott’s playoff run took a painful hit under the lights at Bristol after contact involving John Hunter Nemechek and Denny Hamlin. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was caught up in a final stage crash that left him frustrated and parked in the garage, questioning what went wrong as his night ended early.

The incident capped off a Round of 16 that has been anything but smooth for Elliott. After a 17th-place finish at Darlington and a 38th at Bristol, his playoff margin has shrunk.

Meanwhile, the Joe Gibbs Racing camp has had plenty to celebrate: three races, three wins, with Chase Briscoe at Darlington, Hamlin at Gateway, and Christopher Bell at Bristol. For Elliott, the contrast could not be clearer.

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How Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin’s races fell apart at Bristol

Denny Hamlin (11) and Chase Elliott (9) during the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville. Source: Imagn

Denny Hamlin entered the Bristol weekend in solid form, starting sixth and holding steady inside the top 10 through Stage 2. Chase Elliott, on the other hand, ran mid-pack and never looked like a frontrunner. But both drivers’ nights came undone in the same sequence.

On Lap 310, Elliott was running 10th when he tried to cut down into a narrow gap off Turn 4. Nemechek’s No. 42 Toyota was already there, and the two made contact. Nemechek was then hit from behind by Hamlin, stacking the lane and sending Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet head-on into the wall. His car leaked oil, and NASCAR quickly ruled it out under the Damaged Vehicle Policy.

Radio chatter made the situation even more tense. Elliott yelled, "What the hell was that?" while Nemechek told his team to pass along an apology, saying he’d been run over by Hamlin. When Hamlin saw the exchange later, he replied on X with a simple, “Say what? Lol”, denying the idea that he had caused the crash. Fans online echoed that view, pointing to replays that showed Elliott’s risky move set off the chain reaction.

Elliott later explained his thinking (via Frontstretch):

"The 22 (Joey Logano) got position on me and thought I was doing the smart thing just trying to get back to the bottom... I thought I was clear, back down in line. I visually saw the gap, so I just tried to get back in line. And then yeah, got a huge shot from behind. I'm not sure if John Hunter got pushed in there, or wasn't expecting me to come back to the bottom, or what the reasoning was. But nonetheless, it happened and it's done."

The night only got worse for Denny Hamlin. On Lap 384, while battling AJ Allmendinger for 20th, the two made contact entering Turn 3. Hamlin’s car slammed into the wall, lost its right-front wheel, and picked up a two-lap penalty. He finished five laps down in 31st, while Chase Elliott was scored 38th after retiring on the spot.

Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott reach the NASCAR playoffs Round of 12

Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin during NASCAR Media Day. Source: Imagn

Both drivers now move forward with different outlooks in the playoff race. Denny Hamlin still sits as the top seed entering the Round of 12, holding a 26-point cushion. Chase Elliott hangs on at seventh, just five points above the cut line.

The next three races at New Hampshire, Kansas, and the Charlotte Roval will decide the final eight drivers. Hamlin enters that stretch with the strongest record at Loudon, leading more laps there than any active driver. Elliott, though inconsistent, has logged two top fives in 11 starts at the track and beats Hamlin’s Next Gen average with 10.7 across three races.

With both drivers still in the hunt, Bristol’s crash becomes just another chapter in a playoff fight where the smallest margins decide survival.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl