Chase Elliott Acquits NASCAR “Black Eye” Goodyear of Blame Amidst Denny Hamlin’s Twitter Rampage Against Them

The 2022 season of NASCAR has already been tiring for many drivers, including Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. But these new tire issues at the Texas Motor Speedway raise serious safety concerns for NASCAR drivers. Regular season champion Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, Christopher Bell, Cole Custer, and Kevin Harvick experienced problems due to faulty tires.

During the Autotrader EchoPark 500, Chase Elliott lost control of his #9 due to his right rear tire. Elliott was leading at the 184th lap of the race when his car caught fire and he was eliminated. Owing to the incidents, the NASCAR community, including drivers and fans, criticized Goodyear for its tire quality.

And Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin blamed NASCAR’s tire company, Goodyear, in a Twitter rant. However, unlike Hamlin, Elliott did not blame Goodyear and instead raised concern over the governing body. The Hendrick Motorsports driver blamed NASCAR for putting Goodyear in this position. In fact, he said;

“I’m not sure that Goodyear is at fault. Goodyear always takes the black eye, but they’re put in a really tough position by NASCAR to build a tire that can survive these types of racetracks with this car. I wouldn’t blame Goodyear.”

This was the first race of the Round of 12. Elliott, who was ruling the points table before this, could not score any stage points due to the unfortunate incident. With a new round, the points table has been reset. Hence the 2020 Cup Series champion does not have an edge over others anymore.

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However, taking it all in stride, Elliott said he is looking forward to the next race at Talledega. He hopes to get a win so that he and his team can climb up to the top again.

How was Denny Hamlin’s take on Goodyear different from Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott blamed NASCAR for putting Goodyear in this position. Whereas Denny Hamlin outrightly blamed Goodyear for the incidents that transpired at the Texas Motor Speedway. Further, he claimed that it’s all about the money the tire company pays NASCAR. And added that the governing body would not even think of approaching another tire company.

Although Hamlin’s point of view left the fans divided. A few fans were of the opinion that, like the drivers, Goodyear too, is learning how to work with the new Gen6 cars. Whereas some others supported Denny and his views.

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The next Round of 12 race is scheduled for October 2, 2022, at the Talladega Superspeedway. And owing to the current circumstances, it would be interesting to note how the next playoff race will turn out.