Denny Hamlin has some interesting thoughts on the wreck between Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch during the NASCAR Cup Series Race in Sonoma on Sunday. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin didn’t blame Chastain for running into Busch because he believed Busch’s car had multiple issues.
“We can try to put it on Ross because of the reputation, and I totally understand that, and it’s warranted. But the 8 had issues,” Hamlin said. “The 8 had issues down that short shoot before Turn 4. …I think he was out of gas. I think the 8 was out of gas entering Turn 4, and the 1 was caught very off-guard by that.
“He definitely missed his mark by just a little bit and then got into the 8 there. It was just kind of a perfect bad storm.”
The wreck happened during the final lap, and both drivers were battling for fifth place. Chastain sent Busch spinning, but he recovered and finished in 12th place. Chastain finished fifth, and it was his first top-five finish for him since March.
Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch explain what happened at Sonoma
After the race, Chastain explained what happened during the incident. “Confusing. I’m not sure how the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) won, or how I got back to fifth. I don’t really know. I don’t know how the lap times worked out,” Chastain said, via NBC Sports’ Dustin Long. “I didn’t feel very good in the second or third set of tires for a while, but it worked out somehow to get back up here.
“I’m super proud of the effort by this No. 1 Kubota Chevy team. It’s so good to be in a fast race car. I’m in them most weeks, but to be able to put it together and finish fifth is really, really rewarding.”
Busch shared his thoughts on the wreck. “A couple of guys there at the end of the race had better tires than we did but we were going to have a good day,” Busch told Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “Unfortunately, one of those guys got into us on the last lap and ruined our day. It’s frustrating to not get the finish that we deserved.”
Kyle Larson won the Sonoma race, and it’s his 26th career Cup Series race victory. Michael McDowell finished second and it’s the first runner-up finish in his career.
On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this story.
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