June 6, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

Will the threat of payback temper Ross Chastain's aggression?

Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott finally found something they can agree on—their disdain for Ross Chastain. 

Certainly, both racers had every reason to be hot after what transpired in separate incidents with the driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Chevrolet in Sunday's Enjoy Illinois 300. 

But it’s the pattern of behavior—not the one-off incidents that occurred Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway—that has made Chastain a target.

“There’s no sense of consciousness there that says, ‘Maybe I’m going a bit aggressive.’ But that’s his decision to make,” Hamlin said following the race. “He can make any decisions he wants to, honestly. He’s his own guy, and he’s been very successful doing what he’s doing. 

“But ultimately, yeah, the sport is self-policing and usually when you least expect it and when it means the most is when it comes back around.”

Sixty-four laps into an advertised 240-lap contest, Chastain punted Hamlin while battling for sixth—where the No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota started. Clearly, Hamlin had been competitive before his car was damaged. When Hamlin limped back to the track—six laps down—he had nothing to lose. 

But Chastain did. And after the race, he owned up to it. When asked what sparked him to race over his head, the driver replied, “That was Ross Chastain.”

Unfortunately, that’s the reputation he has earned of late. 

“I made a lot of mistakes and I'll have to give those back at some point,” Chastain said. “I just made too many mistakes. Yeah, I just messed up…Definitely with Chase. I overdrove (Turn) 3 and slid my left front getting in.  “That's not an excuse by any means. I just completely blew the corner and then I got middle of 3 and I should not have been there. It's just terrible driving on my part—like, I should not be in this car if I'm going to do that.”

His team owner Justin Marks completely disagrees. Chastain embodies the ideal Trackhouse Racing driver. And his results on and off the track prove that out. 

Since joining forces with Trackhouse Racing this season, Chastain scored his first win at Circuit of the Americas in March and backed that up with a victory at Talladega Superspeedway in April by taking the lead on the final lap. His seven top fives and nine top 10s in the first 15 races of 2022 have already surpassed his totals in those categories in his first 115 Cup starts.

In 2021, the only season Chastain declared eligibility to run for Cup points, he finished 20th in points. The 29-year-old watermelon farmer is currently third in the standings after finishing seventh on Sunday. But that could change dramatically as Chastain’s enemies pile it on.

“You're going to have to weigh the odds of when is the right time to make sure they get the message,” Hamlin said. “You only want to pay back when it counts. Once he got done taking out the 9 (Elliott) after me, (Chastain) wasn’t in contention to win anymore. So, I said many times, you’re going to have to fence these guys hard just to kind of get their attention. 
“But it’s going to have to be meaningful. It’s going to be on a meaningful day.”

If Hamlin wants to continue to exact revenge on Chastain, Marks’ philosophy is "Bring it!"

“I’m here for it,” Marks said Monday afternoon on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I’m ready…The drama, the controversy. I guess there’s a lot of talk in the sport telling everybody what we're going to do and not a lot of time doing it. So, if they wanna play, it will be fun. 

“I’m a huge fan of the sport. I love entertaining fans and doing stuff out there that gets the conversation going. So, if we want to battle, let’s battle. I’m not going to shy away from that. But again, at the end of the day, I’m also not driving the car myself. We’ll see what happens, I guess.”