Chase Elliott suspended by NASCAR for wrecking Denny Hamlin

NASCAR suspended Chase Elliott for one race for deliberately crashing Denny Hamlin at high speed Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Elliott, the sport’s most popular driver who already missed six races earlier this year due to a broken leg in a snowboarding accident, will miss this weekend’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway, better known as Gateway, in Madison, Illinois.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver is likely to receive an exemption to qualify for the playoffs despite missing a race due to the suspension. NASCAR has granted them in the past, but will not make a decision until HMS formally requests it. But there are only 11 regular season races left when he returns for the June 11 event at Sonoma Raceway. He must either win one of those 11 races or earn one of the available seats (if any) on points – he is 81 points behind the current playoff cutoff and will fall further behind by missing out on Gateway.

Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie, who is 20th in the Cup standings, will replace Elliott at Gateway. Carson Hocevar, who has raced for Spire in the Xfinity Series and is a full-time driver in the truck series, will replace LaJoie in the Cup car for Spire.

“We understand NASCAR’s need to maintain consistency in its performance,” Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement. “There will be no appeal against the sentence and we will make a formal request for an exemption from the playoffs.”

The one-race suspension was the same one NASCAR issued to 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace last year for trashing Kyle Larson in Las Vegas. The incidents were relatively similar: using the left front of the car to make contact with the right rear of the other driver, hooking them in such a way that their car spins and hits the wall at high speed.

During Monday’s second leg of the Coca-Cola 600, Hamlin pinned Elliott against the wall as they battled for position. Elliott retrieved his car, then appeared to make a deliberate left turn into the back of Hamlin’s car.

Elliott said he was unable to control his car after it was damaged from hitting the wall.

“Once you hit the wall with these things, you can’t drive them,” he said when asked if his move was retaliation. “So no, just unfortunate circumstances.”

Drivers know they can be fined for deliberate vandalism, so they rarely admit it, especially if it results in hard contact. Both Hamlin and Elliott had too much damage to continue.

Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing while racing for Joe Gibbs Racing, supported Wallace’s one-race suspension last year and pleaded that Elliott suffer the same fate.

“It’s a tantrum and he shouldn’t be racing next week,” said Hamlin. “Back-right hooks are absolutely unacceptable. … It’s the same thing Bubba Wallace did to Kyle Larson. Exactly the same.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has covered motorsports for decades, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpock breedand sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.

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