Breaking news
NASCAR Cup Phoenix II
No winners as Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin tangle again
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin reignited their on-track feud at Phoenix and this time there was even more on the line.
Jim Utter
Edited: Nov 13, 2017, 10:52 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
But there were no winners.
Hamlin and Elliott both had cars capable of winning Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at Phoenix Raceway – and with it a berth in the Championship 4 – and found themselves battling for second and making contact exiting Turn 4 on Lap 270 of 312.
Eventually, Elliott got around Hamlin for the position after nudging him out of the way, which left Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a tire rub. The tire eventually let go and Hamlin slammed into the wall on Lap 276, which ended his day.
While Hamlin was in the garage, Elliott went on to pass Matt Kenseth and took the lead, with a victory his only chance to compete for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title.
Kenseth, however, reclaimed the lead from Elliott with nine laps remaining, leaving Elliott with his fifth runner-up finish of the season and Chevrolet locked out of the 2017 title picture.
“We were so close to having another shot next week. We fought really hard today and gave ourselves a chance,” Elliott said after the race. “Our car was really fast on those short runs after a caution and after pit cycles on tires.
“It fired off really good and we did pretty good on the short run all day and it got really tight as the run went long. And once the rubber laid back down, I was just hanging on and hoping I could get to (lapped) traffic before I started going away.”
“It’s just such a bummer. I was telling my guys we’ll get it right someday, or I’ll get it right someday. We’ve had so many good opportunities and at some point, we’ve just got to close.”
The contact between Hamlin and Elliott was not near as dramatic as two weeks ago at Martinsville, Va., when Hamlin wrecked Elliott while he was leading the race and two laps remained.
During Sunday’s on-track battle between Hamlin and Elliott, and then later when Elliott took the lead from Kenseth, the crowd at Phoenix roared its approval, reminiscent of the support he received from the Martinsville fans.
Asked about the hard racing with Hamlin, Elliott said, “Well I’m going to race guys how they race me and keep a smile on my face regardless. I’m happy to race guys how they choose to race me and that’s the way I see it.”
After visiting the infield care center following his accident, Hamlin seemed subdued, even resigned to his fate.
“I got into him (at Martinsville). He chose to retaliate. I’m in the garage. That’s the way it is,’’ he said. “I mean, each person had their own opinion of how they do things and it just proved to the people that thought I was a bad guy that he would do the exact same thing in the same circumstances, so, I mean, you know, it’s just part of racing.
“We did a great job all day. This is the best car I’ve had in a very long time. We just got behind on the pit stops and then that just gave those guys an opportunity to get close.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Kenseth takes emotional Phoenix win after dramatic battle
Next article Matt Kenseth celebrates bittersweet Phoenix win
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jim Utter
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup Aug 13, 2024
Erik Jones agrees to multi-year contract extension with Legacy Motor Club
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Aug 12, 2024
Goodyear's option tires at Richmond "were like Mario Kart with a star"
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Richmond II
Aug 12, 2024
NASCAR: Austin Dillon move was "really close to crossing the line"
More from
Denny Hamlin
Hendrick Motorsports pokes fun at Denny Hamlin with Snickers photo: "That was all Rick"
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 d
Hendrick Motorsports pokes fun at Denny Hamlin with Snickers photo: "That was all Rick"
Winners and losers from a different NASCAR Cup finale at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 d
Winners and losers from a different NASCAR Cup finale at Homestead
How Kyle Larson can lose the NASCAR Cup championship at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
6 d
How Kyle Larson can lose the NASCAR Cup championship at Homestead
Latest news
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
General
Misc General 3 h
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
9 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
10 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe