'I just wish I would have known what the last lap scenario was' - Hamlin

Denny Hamlin doesn’t fault Ross Chastain for making the move that wiped them both out on the final lap of Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval, but he does wish he knew what was going on.

Hamlin was spun in the frontstretch chicane by Chastain coming to the checkered flag. The move was an act of desperation for Chastain, who needed the position to break the tie with Joey Logano to advance into the next round of the postseason. At the time, the two were tied, and Logano held the tiebreaker.

“It was a surprise because no one told me anything,” Hamlin said. “So, I had absolutely no idea. Truthfully, I didn’t know if I was racing for 25th or 10th. I had no idea of my position.

“The … cars (were) all spread out. I had no idea of anything; I was just putting along that last run. … But I didn’t know he was desperate. I wish I (would have).”

Without real-time information on the point standings as the field came to the finish, Hamlin didn’t know that he was playing a role in Logano advancing and Chastain being eliminated. Logano is the reigning and three-time series champion who has shown his competition more than once that his team is capable of overcoming deficits and the odds to succeed. But there were crickets, Hamlin said, on his radio about the situation.

Hamlin never acknowledged which driver, Chastain or Logano, he would rather have to race going forward or what he would have done differently Sunday had he known the scenario. But he did admit that, “I would have made the best decision for me. I wish I would have known.”

Chastain admitted he made a mistake in Turn 7 that allowed Hamlin to take the 18th position from him on the final lap. Hamlin saw Chastain fading but assumed that Logano was ahead of both of them.

“So, honestly, I was driving blind,” Hamlin said. “I had no idea of the points situation.”

But Chastain and his team were very aware of the situation as Hamlin taking the spot pushed them into a tie with Logano. And they made Chastain aware that he needed to be ahead of Hamlin as the finish neared.

The contact spun both Chastain and Hamlin. Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Logano drove by before the finish line to eliminate Chastain from the postseason.

Chastain drove backward across the line to a 21st-place finish behind Logano. Hamlin, who also drove his car to the finish line backward, was credited with a 23rd-place finish.

“I was just trying not to wreck (Chastain),” Hamlin said of the final laps. “He was fading and obviously blocking aggressively, but I didn’t want to get into him or anything like that. I didn’t want any part of it.

“Truthfully, I just wish I would have known what the last lap scenario was, and then I would have made the best decision I could for me.”