Denny Hamlin explains why his JGR crew kept quiet about his ‘vulnerable’ position at Charlotte ROVAL

Denny Hamlin explained why Joe Gibbs Racing was silent during his final lap battle with Ross Chastain at Charlotte Roval. Hamlin noted that the No.11 team was 'hyper sensitive' due to a similar situation from last year.

During the Bank of America Roval 400, Hamlin found himself amid a points battle between Chastain and Joey Logano. The two drivers were vying for the final transfer spot and were tied on points going into the final lap.

Chastain was instructed to pass Hamlin to secure his lead over Logano, and the No.1 driver made a desperate lunge over the final chicane. He bumped Hamlin, but got spun out himself, leaving Logano to slip past and lock in to the Round of 8.

During post-race interviews, Hamlin shared that he was unaware of the Chastain-Logano duel. He implied that he would've taken steps to get out of the way. On the latest episode of his podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin went in detail about the situation.

"I more would have liked to have known that I was in a vulnerable position those last couple corners," he said. [1:02:30 onwards]

When asked if he knew the reasoning behind JGR's silence at the time, he said,

"They felt very hyper sensitive to what happened last year. And at that point I said, 'Just let me know how desperate the person is that I'm racing.' Now I know how to attack them."

"If I know that they're going to be desperate, I'm going to say, 'Okay, well, I need to approach this a little differently.' And then when I get around them, I need to get the hell out," he added.

Notably, the playoff elimination race at Martinsville last year saw 23XI Racing attracted a $100,00 fine for aiding a teammate. Bubba Wallace had slowed down to help out Tyler Reddick, and the Denny Hamlin co-owned team was also docked 50 owner points for the incident.

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Joey Logano's crew chief calls for race manipulation over Denny Hamlin's comments

Joey Logano's crew chief, Paul wolfe, executed a bold pit strategy that gave the No.22 driver fresher tires in his final lap showdown on Sunday. The Team Penske driver pitted with ten laps to go while Ross Chastain had decided to stay out. The move ultimately paid off when Logano edged out a backward finish by Chastain.

However, Denny Hamlin's post-race comments seem to have irked the veteran crew chief. When asked if he would've played a hand in Chastain's duel with Logano, Hamlin had replied(via Motorsport.com),

“I would not have passed him [Ross Chastin]."

Reflecting upon the same, Wolfe spoke to NASCAR reporter Matt Weaver and said,

"aI think when you look at some of those situations, though--talking about not passing somebody--at what point, when all those guys behind them were catching them over a second faster per lap, are we going to start manipulating races?"

Denny Hamlin currently sits atop the playoff standings with eight points over the cutline.