Rick Hendrick addresses Chase Elliott suspension, but points out 'fine line'
Rick Hendrick accepted Chase Elliott’s one-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin during last month’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, though he believes drivers “have the right to retaliate.”
“I think you have to accept it if you did it,” Hendrick told NASCAR.com Thursday. “But when you get roughed up and you get roughed up by the same person all the time or multiple times in a race, the frustration sets in and you just… you’ve ruined my day, I’m gonna ruin your day. And I think NASCAR is gonna calm that down. But, until something was done, they were going to keep on doing it. So, I don’t like it. But, I feel like our guys have the right to retaliate, but we’ve got to now not wreck the guy.”
NASCAR suspended Elliott for the Lap 186 crash that occurred on the front stretch after Elliott made contact with the wall coming out of Turn 4 with Hamlin beside him. Elliott appeared to take exception with being squeezed against the wall by Hamlin, and responded by deliberately hooking him.
Hendrick said he’s in favor of handling disagreements off the race track rather than on it.
“I’d rather after the race confront them and ask them what the deal is,” Hendrick said. “But our sport’s been about pushing and shoving. It’s a fine line when you get over that. If somebody pushes and shoves you and puts you out of the race, then what are you going to do?”
Chase Elliott reflects on suspension stemming from Denny Hamlin wreck at Charlotte
Ahead of his return this weekend in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, Elliott addressed his one-race suspension.
“Certainly it was an unfortunate circumstance on many accounts,” Elliott said Tuesday. “I hate that we’re in the position that we’re in. Obviously it’s been a pretty wild year — even prior to last week or two weeks ago. But yeah, look, I hate that I put our team and our partners and our fans and all the folks that make us go in a tough spot. Certainly glad Denny’s OK and I understand NASCAR’s call and what they felt like they needed to do.”
Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway was Elliott’s seventh absence this Cup Series season. He previously missed six races earlier this season after fracturing the tibia in his left leg in a snowboarding accident.
Currently sitting 28th in the points standings, Elliott will almost surely need to find his way into victory lane in the final 11 races of the regular season to have a shot at qualifying for the playoffs.
“For me personally, just kind of looking forward to getting back to work and just trying to get in a groove because I don’t really feel like I’ve been in one throughout the year,” Elliott said. “It’s been kind of stop-and-go all season, unfortunately. But the way I see it is there’s 11 races left, and we pretty much need to go win one of those to get in the [playoffs]. So, that’s where my head’s at right now.”