NASCAR suspends Chase Elliott for one race for intentionally hitting Denny Hamlin’s car

Chase Elliott has been suspended by NASCAR for one race after he hit Denny Hamlin’s car in Monday’s Coca-Cola 600 race, sending it into the wall.

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According to NASCAR, Elliott intentionally swerved into the rear of Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota on lap 186 of the race, sending him into the outside wall before spinning out and ending up on the edge of the infield grass.

“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightaway,” Hamlin told reporters on Monday after the race. “It’s a tantrum, and he shouldn’t be racing next week. Right rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable.”

Elliott called the crash “an unfortunate circumstance.”

“The 11 (Hamlin’s car) ran us up in the fence there, and once you tear the right side off these things, it’s kind of over. Once you hit the wall in these things, you can’t drive them anymore. Just an unfortunate circumstance.”

The wreck took both Elliott and Hamlin out of the race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Elliott will be missing his seventh race of the 2023 season. He broke his leg in a snowboarding accident in March, sidelining him for six races.

His first race back was on April 16 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.

On Sunday, Elliott will miss the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

“We understand NASCAR’s need to maintain consistency in its officiating,” Hendrick Motorsports, the team Elliott drives for, said in a statement about the suspension.

“The penalty will not be appealed, and we will submit a formal request for a playoff waiver. Corey LaJoie, 31, will drive the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. We are grateful to Corey for stepping in and to the team at Spire Motorsports for making him available.”