After their second run-in over the last five NASCAR Cup races, Denny Hamlin has “reached my peak” with Ross Chastain.
The latest installment in the soap opera between Chastain and Hamlin occurred with 14 laps left in Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Chastain was racing behind Hamlin in Turns 3 and 4 of the 1.54-mile track as they ran around the top five.
Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet, which had bear bond on both sides of its hood for repairs from an earlier wreck, drifted up the track and tagged Hamlin. That sent the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s No. 11 Toyota into a spin as Chastain managed to avoid any more significant damage to his own car.
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Hamlin was able to continue, but on the ensuing restart he was caught up in a wreck with Christopher Bell and Joey Logano in the back of the pack. He finished 25th.
Meanwhile, Chastain finished second to Chase Elliott for his 10th top-10 finish of the season.
“It’s just frustrating. We were in pretty good position, but ultimately got taken out,” Hamlin said. “We were in really good position and we were about to be clear of (Chastain) and be in third in the outside line. I was really happy with where I was at for sure. I think (Chastain) probably sensed that we were about to clear him so he chased us up there and got into us.”
The incident Sunday followed what happened between the two drivers in the June 5 race at Gateway, when Chastain went in deep into Turn 1, made contact with Hamlin and sent him into the outside wall.
Hamlin spent the rest of the race trying to get his point across by making Chastain’s day miserable. He attempted to force Chastain off the track on the backstretch immediately after the incident. He later intentionally slowed in front of Chastain to impede his progress multiple times.
After the incident at Atlanta, someone on the No. 11 team radio remarked: “Lesson not learned.”
Chastain told reporters that the contact was a result of the damage to his car. That was inflicted when Chastain may or may not have turned Martin Truex Jr. on Lap 91, triggering a multi-car crash.
“I had damage and I overestimated how fast I could go into the corner with the draft and I ran into him,” Chastain said. “This one is so much different (from Gateway), because I had so much damage. Ya’ll know i would take full responsibility if I just ran into him. I had so much damage, I was so much tighter. … I just couldn’t carry the throttle like I could earlier. I still lifted some, but it wasn’t enough.”
On pit road after the race, Hamlin was asked at what point has a line been crossed too many times.
“It’s all in whatever level I’m willing to take. It’s just another unfortunate circumstance for him,” Hamlin said. “Everyone has different tolerance levels and as you all know, I’ve reached my peak.”
There are seven races left until the start of the post-season, which both drivers have qualified for.
After Gateway, Hamlin said Chastain would suffer the consequences when it “matters the most.”
Leaving Atlanta, where does it go from here?
“It all works out in the end,” Hamlin told NBC Sports. “I said my piece the first time around and nothing really has changed this time. … We certainly aren’t cutting any breaks going forward. … Eventually you got to pay for those decisions that you make and … whatever happens in the future happens.”