Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NASCAR Chevy Camaro ZL1, has been suspended for one race following his actions during the Charlotte 600 on May 29th, 2023, according to a statement from NASCAR.
NASCAR officials ruled that Elliott intentionally wrecked the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry of Denny Hamlin on Lap 186 of the race. Elliott turned the No. 9 Camaro left into Hamlin’s quarter panel, putting the No. 11 Camry into the outside wall on the front straightaway.
The retaliation stemmed from earlier contact between the two racers, wherein Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry squeezed Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro into the wall while exiting Turn 4.
Elliott’s actions were found to be in violation of Sections 4.3.A and 4.4.C & D of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct in the NASCAR Rule Book. Section 4.3.A states “correct and proper conduct, both on and off the race track, is part of a member’s responsibilities.” Section 4.4.C refers to “removing another competitor from championship contention in a dangerous manner when not racing for position based on the available evidence and specific circumstances of the incident” as one of two actions that may result in a penalty, including race suspension(s), such as “clearly forcing another competitor into the wall in an abrupt and unambiguous manner.” Section 4.4.D lists “actions by a NASCAR member that NASCAR finds to be detrimental to stock car racing or NASCAR” as an action that may result in a fine and/or indefinite suspension.
“We take this very seriously,” said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition. “The incident that happened off Turn 4, after looking at all the available resources… it was an intentional act by Chase, in our opinion, after reviewing all the available resources there. In the heat of the battle, things happen, but drivers need to understand you have to handle that in a completely different way than hooking someone in the right rear and putting them in harm’s way.”
Hendrick Motorsports, the team that fields the No. 9 Camaro for Chase Elliott, said that it would not attempt to appeal the suspension, but it will apply for a Playoff waiver that would allow Elliott to compete in the championship should he qualify after the regular season.
In the meantime, Corey Lajoie will drive the No. 9 Camaro this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Cup Series event on June 4th, 2023. Lajoie regularly drives the No. 7 Camaro in the Cup Series. Carson Hocevar, a Truck Series regular, will pilot the No. 7 Camaro in his stead this weekend.
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Comments
This is total BS. Other than Bubba Smollett Hamlin is the biggest cry baby in Nascar .
Nascar is not a Demolition Derby. Scraped fenders and flat tires are OK. Causing major wrecks is dangerous for the two cars involved and eveveryone else around them. Win with talent, not by wrecking the competition. Any numbnut can wreck the field!
4.4.C forcing another competitor into the wall is also a violation. it’s obvious Hamlin pushed Elliot into the wall so both were at fault. Why hasn’t Hamlin been suspended?
because Hamlin knows the right people. Don’t think there are not favorites that NASCAR has.
I was reading an article about the Incident and On the opinions part of the article ,one of the guys showed a video of the wreck and It showed Chase bouncing off the wall and as was coming down out of control,Brad Koslowski tapped Chase on the rear left corner, As he and Hamlin were side by side , at a very fast pace and that is when Chase tapped Hamlin Toyota right rear corner . The rest is history !
Oh Ok it’s ok for Hamlin to bump and hook the fender of others to win a race but not ok for anyone to touch him. He is the biggest cry baby I know. Nascar officials suck.
But on the other hand, the first contact did not result in an accident. The second was to get back for the first and did result in an accident and elimination of a competitor and could have resulted in a huge pileup with major injuries. The second offence matches the rules to a T for punishment by race suspension. NASCAR used to have these little pileups and drivers used tactics like that all the time, but times are changed at least a little.
Nevertheless, Hamlin is no saint and forced Elliot into the wall. wasn’t Hamlin suspended awhile ago for wrecking Ross Chastain? It speaks to Hamlin’s tactics, yet he got away scot-free with forcing Elliot into the wall.