Denny Hamlin sounds off on 'risk vs. reward' in Ross Chastain COTA dive bomb

Perhaps the most ambitious move during last Sunday’s race at COTA came in Turn 1 on Lap 1, when Ross Chastain tried to make it four-wide and slammed into Chase Elliott.

Chastain didn’t gain the advantage he wanted. Elliott had to battle back all day to secure a fourth-place finish. Others, including Denny Hamlin, sustained damage in the incident. Hamlin called the move “crazy,” seeing that Chastain started just in front of him and made his way to the third-place car at the time in Elliott.

Denny Hamlin was one of the drivers who suffered damage from Ross Chastain's opening-lap move that went awry where he tried to gain several positions on the inside but ended up having contact with Chase Elliott. What Hamlin thought about risk vs reward at that time: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/kaBtDvFp6z

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 9, 2025

“It was crazy, and I mentioned it that Ross started right in front of me and somehow got the third-place car,” Hamlin told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “I was 11th, so he went in there with commitment for sure.”

Elliott and his team weren’t happy with Chastain. After the race, Elliott said that Chastain ran him over. Chastain, meanwhile, declined comment. But after having nearly a week to review the footage and gather his thoughts, Chastain opened up.

“When I watched the overhead view, yeah, I’m the outlier,” Chastain said Saturday “I’m the furthest left and I’m the fastest. So, yeah, it was an error. When I went inside the 5 [Kyle Larson], I thought we were slow enough from the restart zone and it was not the case.

“So, I get to take that, I get to live with that. But yeah, from the outside it doesn’t look good. The intention was… it was an error, a big error. To go to the bottom of 5, that was not necessary.”

Ross Chastain speaks out about COTA incident with Chase Elliott

Chastain knows now what he did wrong. He further explained the “bad move” and where it went sideways.

“Well with risk there’s always reward,” Chastain continued. “That move was a bad move, I don’t know how else to say it. In the moment I felt in control until the last third of the brake zone. I mean, I started locking the rear and not being able to be as slow as I wanted to.

“So, yeah, when I watch it back, I would stay behind the 5 if I could do it again. I don’t know what else to say but with any risk there is reward on the track but obviously that one cost me more than what it was worth.”

The risk versus reward is something drivers have to consider with every move. Hamlin can see the reward in what Chastain was doing.

“I think it’s to each its own,” Hamlin said. “Had he honestly not caught in the door of the 9, he probably would have gained 10 spots. So, he might have looked at it differently that the juice was worth the squeeze if he would have got through.”