Tag: NASCAR Feud of the Week

NASCAR fans react to Denny Hamlin walling Kyle Larson en route to controversial win

NASCAR fans at Pocono showered Denny Hamlin with boos after a controversial ending.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson collided for the second time this season with a victory in the balance, and NASCAR fans in the stands at Pocono were irate after a controversial finish saw Hamlin become the all-time wins leader at the track.

The race for the win appeared to be a shootout between Larson and Martin Truex Jr., but Alex Bowman spun with 11 laps to go after Hamlin got within inches of his rear bumper and upset the handling of Bowman’s car.

On the restart, Hamlin opted for the outside lane behind leader Larson, but took an opportunity to dive below Larson into Turn 1. Hamlin drove up the track and into Larson’s door, which sent Larson into the outside wall. Shortly after, Justin Haley spun to bring out another caution.

Larson was clearly upset, and ran into Hamlin under caution on the frontstretch.

Hamlin, however, went on to win the race, while Larson dropped back to 21st with a damaged car. There was even more drama before the checkered flew, however, as Ryan Preece spin with two laps to go. Instead of throw a caution flag and give fans a sprint to the finish, NASCAR opted to wait until Hamlin saw the white flag and then throw a caution, ending the race.

Hamlin was showered with boos as he went down the frontstretch, and one fan even threw a bottle over the fence toward Hamlin’s car. In his post-race interview, Hamlin argued that Larson wrecked himself, and upheld that he left enough room for Larson during their incident.

 

NASCAR official on why Chase Elliott was suspended for 1 race for wrecking Denny Hamlin

“It was an intentional act by Chase [Elliott] in our opinion.”

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Following an incident Monday in NASCAR’s rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600, the governing body dealt Chase Elliott a one-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin.

Nearly halfway through NASCAR’s longest race and “crown jewel” event — which Ryan Blaney ultimately won — Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet appeared to deliberately turn into Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Coming out of Turn 4 on Lap 186 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hamlin squeezed Elliott up the track, and the No. 9 car brushed the wall. Elliott seemingly turned into Hamlin, causing the No. 11 to crash head-on into the frontstretch wall.

NASCAR officials reviewed race data and ruled that Elliott intentionally wrecked Hamlin, and the behavioral penalty was announced Tuesday afternoon.

“In the heat of the battle, things happen,” Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio following the suspension announcement. “[B]ut drivers needs 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 responded with a statement saying it would not appeal the penalty and noted Corey LaJoie, who normally drives for Spire Motorsports, will fill in for Elliott this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. The team also said it will submit for a waiver to keep Elliott eligible for the playoffs in the fall.

Sawyer further explained on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:

“We arrived at a one-race suspension for Chase. We take this very seriously in the fact that the incident that happened off Turn 4, again after looking at all the available resources — in-car camera, data, SMT, which basically gives us steering, gives us throttle, gives us braking — it was an intentional act by Chase in our opinion and our view after reviewing all the available resources there.

“We have great racing on our race tracks. We have some of the most phenomenal athletes that are driving these cars, and in the heat of the battle, things happen. But they have to learn to react in a different way.”

The situation between Elliott and Hamlin is similar to an incident last season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In October 2022, NASCAR determined Bubba Wallace intentionally turned into Kyle Larson, and similarly, Wallace was suspended for a single race.

When asked what convinced NASCAR that Elliott’s dangerous contact was intentional, Sawyer continued:

“Watching the optics of it, immediately from the towers, like wow, that looked like a hard left-hand turn into the right-rear quarter of [Hamlin], which obviously turned the [No.] 11 into the front straightaway wall there head-on. Again, as we did last night [and] again this morning early throughout the day, you start looking at the data. There was some conversation about maybe a broken toe link on the right rear.

“And as you look through all that, nothing gave us the indication that on that particular contact with the fourth-turn wall … that anything was broke by looking at the steering, looking at in-car camera, hand position on steering wheel and the way the steering wheel was turned hard to the left, it just supported what the optics were. And again, that’s why we landed on the penalty we did.”

After the incident, Hamlin was understandably fuming. He pointed to the previous incident between Wallace and Larson, saying:

“It’s a tantrum, and he shouldn’t be racing next week. Right-rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable. I don’t care. It is the same thing that Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson. Exact same. He shouldn’t be racing. It’s a tantrum.”

Monday, Elliott said he wasn’t retaliating against Hamlin and added:

“The No. 11 ran us up into the fence there. Once you tear the right-side off these things, it’s kind of over.”

NASCAR officials told a driver to park it mid-race, so he left his car on the start-finish line

Josh Williams was less than pleased about NASCAR telling him his day was done.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

This time around, it’s Josh Williams versus NASCAR.

When NASCAR officials command you to do something during a race, it’s best to listen to them. But perhaps not quite as literally as Xfinity Series driver Williams hilariously did.

At Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, the second-tier series driver was involved in an incident on Lap 27 of the 163-lap race. After pitting, Williams and his team were able to get the the No. 92 Chevrolet back out on the track but not for long.

As Motorsport.com noted, after the repairs, parts of the car were flying off onto the track, which led NASCAR officials to park Williams, telling him to go to the garage and that the team’s race day was over.

Unsurprisingly, that didn’t sit well with Williams. So he took NASCAR’s direction to park it extremely literally, parking his car on the start-finish line, walking across the infield grass and waving to fans as he left the track.

Similarly unsurprisingly, NASCAR didn’t appreciate where Williams left his car, and according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the driver was called to NASCAR’s hauler to have a surely stern talk with officials.

While it’s unclear what exactly will happen, it’s likely Williams will be penalized by NASCAR in some way for his actions.

NASCAR driver Ty Gibbs compared himself to Jesus after controversial Martinsville bump, fans absolutely roast him

Our latest NASCAR Feud of the Week is basically Ty Gibbs vs. everybody.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

It’s Ty Gibbs versus everybody in this latest edition of Feud of the Week. And we actually mean everybody — his teammate, his competitors, the fans in the grandstands at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night, as well as those on the internet. Everybody.

And he got roasted by pretty much everybody.

The 20-year-old Xfinity Series driver has quickly gained a reputation for being a super aggressive driver who has no problem knocking other cars out of his way. Gibbs — who drives the No. 54 Toyota for his grandfather’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing — also got into an actual fist fight with another driver earlier this season.

Here’s a breakdown of how Gibbs won at Martinsville, how he and others reacted to his controversial bump of his teammate and all the ways the NASCAR world roasted him for his behavior.

William Byron spun Denny Hamlin under caution at Texas, and there’s ‘no excuse’ for NASCAR officials missing it

And Denny Hamlin promised payback: “When I get a chance, they’re going to get it.”

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Unlike our most recent NASCAR Feud story – which was entirely a joke based on a real 11-year-old feud — this one is serious and reflects poorly on multiple parties involved.

Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway opened the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 12 after four drivers were eliminated from the postseason field the previous week. And although Tyler Reddick — once a playoff driver but one of the first four dropped from championship contention — won the race, the ignited feud between Denny Hamlin and William Byron took centerstage.

Basically, Byron showed his displeasure with Hamlin during the race by hitting the back of the No. 11 Toyota. It’s certainly not the first time this has happened in NASCAR, but it happened under caution, which is still dangerous and considered far more unacceptable.

Let’s dive into what happened and how on earth NASCAR missed this moment, despite cameras literally everywhere.

Kyle Busch’s signing bonus from Richard Childress was a hilarious reference to his new boss once punching him

Of course, NASCAR fans loved this joke.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Our latest NASCAR Feud of the Week is actually a throwback to an 11-year-old incident that came full circle this week, ending with a fabulous joke.

Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will have a new team and new ride beginning in the 2023 season, and, of course, that also means he’ll have a new boss. Busch announced Tuesday that he’s leaving Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 seasons with the powerhouse team to join Richard Childress Racing.

“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be taking my talents to Welcome, North Carolina to drive the No. 8 car for Richard Childress Racing starting in 2023,” 37-year-old Busch said in a statement reminiscent of LeBron James in 2010.

So instead of Joe Gibbs, he’ll be reporting to Richard Childress — an interesting pair if you know you’re NASCAR history.

Basically, in what’s now known as the “hold my watch” incident, then-65-year-old Childress and then-26-year-old Busch tangled after a Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway in 2011. Now, Busch is no stranger to (sometimes physical) altercations in NASCAR, but in this instance, he wasn’t really the instigator.

A refresher on what happened, via The Athletic:

After a 2011 NASCAR Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway, team owner Richard Childress was livid over how Kyle Busch had made contact with Joey Coulter — who was then driving a Richard Childress Racing entry.

Childress infamously told grandson Austin Dillon to “Hold my watch,” because you wouldn’t want to mess up a nice timepiece in a fight. Then, according to witnesses, the much older man proceeded to place Busch into a headlock and punch him in the head several times before Busch fell to the ground. Childress was later fined $150,000 by NASCAR.

Fast forward 11 years later, and Busch and Childress are now on the same team and will be indefinitely, as the current No. 18 Toyota driver said it’s a multiyear deal.

During Busch’s announcement Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, Childress even had a little fun over their shared history. After Busch shared his plans for next season and beyond, Childress joined him on stage and with a gift for his new driver.

“Well, you know, Kyle, the other week when we signed our contract, there was something I forgot to give you,” Childress said. “It was your signing bonus, so I’ve gotta give you your signing bonus.

“Will you hold my watch?” he asked, handing Busch a Rolex box.

“Absolutely,” Busch responded.

“That’s all we’re gonna talk about that,” Childress added. “That’s history.”

Clearly, Busch and Childress have moved far beyond the “hold my watch” incident more than a decade ago, and they made that clear recently, as uncertainty and speculation about Busch’s future was really heating up.

Saturday at Kansas, Busch also made a joke about their history. He said, via FOX Sports:

“Who is to say he hasn’t punched me again in any of these conversations?” he said. “Whenever you go into negotiations, it’s never fun, so you’re duking the whole time.

“You grow up, and you work through things. It was fine the first time I sat down with him.”

That’s a nice-looking signing bonus…

7 heated road-rage quotes from NASCAR’s 2022 Indy road course race

“…I can wreck every one of them.”

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Most of our NASCAR Feuds of the Week during the 2022 season have been all about two drivers aggressively racing each other and responding with on-track payback. There was also an incident of drivers trying to fight each other with their cars, plus a literal fist fight that broke out earlier this year.

But this week’s feud is more about drivers’ general frustration and anger — sometimes directed at their competitors, sometimes at themselves and other times at their own cars.

The latest NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course was intense — particularly with Turn 1 wreaking havoc on the field before Tyler Reddick walked away with his second checkered flag of the season — which makes eavesdropping on their radio audio that much more entertaining. And with now just four regular-season races remaining before the playoffs begin in September, it’s likely that races are only going to get more fiery going into the postseason.

So, thanks to NASCAR’s and FOX Sports’ latest editions of the best radio highlights, here are seven heated road-rage quotes from Sunday’s overtime-induced 86-lap race in Indy.

Ross Chastain on his ongoing NASCAR feud with Denny Hamlin after Pocono wreck: ‘I had that one coming’

Ross Chastain was waiting for payback, and Denny Hamlin delivered.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Denny Hamlin had a tremendously eventful Sunday at Pocono Raceway — though things didn’t exactly turn out in his favor.

The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver finished first in the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at the “Tricky Triangle” track, ahead of teammate Kyle Busch in second. But afterward, both the No. 11 and Busch’s No. 18 Toyota failed post-race inspection, and the two teams were disqualified.

However, that’s not what we’re here to talk about.

Instead, we’re focusing on the final laps at Pocono and the ongoing on-track drama between Hamlin and Ross Chastain.

At this point, it’s becoming less of a feud and more of a summer saga between these two drivers, who are surely both fed up with each other. A few weeks ago after the Atlanta Motor Speedway race, Hamlin even said he was out of patience with Chastain: “I’ve reached my peak.”

Let’s break down what happened in this latest clash Sunday at Pocono.

Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon tried to fight with their race cars during NASCAR’s New Hampshire race

What exactly happened here?

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

As far as specifics go, it’s still largely unclear exactly what sparked some wild and aggressive on-track jabs between Brad Keselowski and Austin Dillon. But they were obviously not pleased with each other Sunday during the NASCAR Cup Series’ Ambetter 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

And after the race, they both were mostly tight-lipped about what went on between them before they began sideswiping each other. So, based on what we know, here’s a breakdown of what happened Sunday at New Hampshire.

RELATED: After latest NASCAR wreck, Denny Hamlin has had it with Ross Chastain: ‘I’ve reached my peak’

After latest NASCAR wreck, Denny Hamlin has had it with Ross Chastain: ‘I’ve reached my peak’

Denny Hamlin was, yet again, beyond frustrated with Ross Chastain after NASCAR’s summer Atlanta race.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

If Ross Chastain previously thought payback from Denny Hamlin was on hold, he might want to reconsider that because, as Hamlin put it, he’s “reached [his] peak” when it comes to Chastain’s on-track aggression.

Previously, the two drivers had a bit of a feud stemming from an incident at at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway back in early June — when Chastain also tangled with Chase Elliott.

And the tension between Chastain and Hamlin only increased Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway when Chastain, again, wrecked Hamlin, this time with only a few laps to go in the Quaker State 400, which Elliott ended up winning. Now, Hamlin’s had it with the No. 1 Chevrolet driver.

Let’s break it down.