Updated: NASCAR announced Tuesday evening that it has suspended Chase Elliott for one race due to his involvement in a crash at the Coca-Cola 600
Chase Elliott has been on a rollercoaster throughout the 2023 NASCAR season. Elliott crashed out of the Daytona 500 and bounced back for a second-place finish at Auto Club Speedway. Then, he fractured his left tibia in a snowboarding accident the following Friday.
Elliott would miss six weeks while recovering from his injury as Josh Berry and Jordan Taylor split the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion returned at Martinsville Speedway and has been working to gain points for the playoffs.
Those efforts took a hit on Monday afternoon. During the Coca-Cola 600, Elliott and Denny Hamlin crashed out together and came home with poor finishes. However, this was not the full story of the biggest outcome during the rainy weekend.
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Evaluating Chase Elliott’s wreck with Denny Hamlin at the Coca-Cola 600
Elliott’s wreck with Hamlin is certainly NASCAR’s biggest story coming from the weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway but it is for the wrong reasons. In fact, it could not have gone much worse for the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
As Hamlin exited Turn 4, he went up the track and put Elliott in the wall. After hitting the fence, the No. 9 car continued straight for a second before turning left and right hooking the No. 11 car hard into the wall.
Many speculated whether Elliott intentionally wrecked Hamlin and the SMT data appears to indicate that it was the case. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver went on social media during the Coca-Cola 600 and posted the data for everyone to see.
Based on the SMT data, Elliott clearly turned the steering wheel harder left than he did on any other corner during the race. This is also important since it was not a corner and on the front stretch while exiting Turn 4.
There was another factor in this accident and that was Brad Keselowski. The driver of the No. 6 car for RFK Racing was close to Elliott and Hamlin when the incident occurred. In fact, Keselowski did make contact with Elliott.
However, there is sufficient evidence that proves Keselowski did not make contact with Elliott until the No. 9 car was already turning left to wreck Hamlin. Therefore, the RFK Racing driver’s involvement in the accident is not important.
After the race, Hamlin talked about the incident and based on the evidence provided above, it is clear that he was not happy. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also brought up an interesting point.
“I got right-rear hooked in the straightaway,” said Hamlin. “(Chase Elliott) shouldn’t be racing next week (at World Wide Technology Raceway).”
The right-rear hook appears to have been on purpose so if NASCAR finds the same in their review of the incident, will Elliott face a one-race suspension?
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Why Chase Elliott is likely to be suspended for the next NASCAR Cup Series race at Gateway
Elliott needs to gain enough points or win a race to lock himself into the 2023 NASCAR playoffs due to his snowboarding accident earlier in the season. The wreck at the Coca-Cola 600 will likely make it a harder task.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver should absolutely be suspended for one race at World Wide Technology Raceway. The evidence above is enough to show that Elliott intentionally hooked Hamlin across the front stretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
It is not the exact same as Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson’s accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year; however, the driver of the No. 9 car still intentionally wrecked Hamlin in that manner and it is not OK.
Wallace completely drove it down the track and created a really violent wreck that also involved Toyota Racing teammate Christopher Bell. This accident was just between Elliott and Hamlin but it was still pretty violent.
The precedent has been set in the past with Wallace so anything less than a one-race suspension would simply be unacceptable from NASCAR unless there is evidence to back up Elliott’s actions from the SMT data or another area.
These types of wrecks are simply not OK for a driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, especially a champion of the sport. Wallace’s reputation took a hit from the accident and Elliott will need to rebuild his moving forward.
It would be very shocking if Elliott is driving the No. 9 car for Hendrick Motorsports next weekend. Nothing is for certain but it would be smart on NASCAR’s end to keep being consistent in what is a penalty and what is not.
In the meantime, whether you are watching it live or looking for how to watch NASCAR on TV or another streaming platform, Sportsnaut has you covered for the upcoming weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway!