"Everybody out here is employed by somebody": Justin Marks downplays Denny Hamlin's role in Ross Chastain’s playoff elimination

Justin Marks commented on Ross Chastain’s elimination after the No. 1 car's crash with Denny Hamlin last Sunday. The Trackhouse Racing owner also said that Hamlin's priority was to race for his team.

The Round of 12 elimination race saw Shane van Gisbergen win his fifth road course race after leading 57 laps. But Chastain and Hamlin tangled in the frontstretch chicane in the closing laps. Chastain dived into Hamlin's car in a desperate move to gain position and beat Logano to the next playoff round.

However, the move backfired, and he ended up four points short. During a post-race interview, Marks told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass about Hamlin's limited role in his elimination and said:

"I think for all of us watching, it's really easy to be looking at the scoring pylon and looking at the points and us making decisions in our mind that, like, we think that race car drivers are making decisions inside their car. ... Everybody's out here to try to get the best finish and the best result for their team, and I don't think anybody really owes it to anybody else to try to help anybody else."

Ross Chastain had a 13-point deficit heading to Roval, and his team made costly pit road mistakes. He ultimately crossed the finish line backwards, and Logano ended up gaining multiple spots in the final lap melee and overtook Chastain by four points to secure the final Round of 8 spot.

Marks also stressed that drivers work for their teams and that Trackhouse needs to cut down on mistakes.

"We need to eliminate the mistakes that were made today, so we weren't in that position. When we look at these cutoff races and it comes down to one point, two point, one position, you just got to remember that everybody out here, they're employed by somebody and they're trying to do the best job for their race team and their boss," he added.

Hamlin would have let Chastain pass and avoided Logano in the next round if he had known the full playoff picture.

---

"It's nice to hear" - Trackhouse Racing boss on Denny Hamlin's comments about Ross Chastain

Denny Hamlin also accepted responsibility for the incident after the race. He said he did not fully realize Ross Chastain's position and that he saw Chastain fading and assumed someone would inform him if it was close. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver called himself "the guy in the way" and also said he did not fault Chastain for being aggressive.

Justin Marks appreciated Hamlin's comments during the interview and said:

"It's nice to hear, like, Denny say those things, but Denny's doing what he's got to do for the 11 team and try to get the best finish that he can for the 11 team."

Hamlin finished in 23rd place, two places ahead of Ross Chastain, but now leads the playoffs standings ahead of the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar