“He is Competition, Live With It” – Kyle Petty to Denny Hamlin Amidst Ross Chastain Feud

Published 07/14/2022, 11:00 AM EDT

Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty spoke on the NASCAR NBC podcast recently. He went on to explain why he thinks veteran drivers have singled Ross Chastain out.

Petty thinks, that Chastain is being unfairly criticized by older drivers who seem to be threatened by his success lately.

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“When I was 42, 43, 44, 45 years old and Denny Hamlin and Jimmy Johnson all those guys coming in. I was p*ssed off because they beat me. I took it personally, ” Petty said.

On the latest ⁦@NASCARonNBC⁩ Podcast, ⁦@kylepetty⁩ explained why he thinks ⁦@RossChastain⁩ is being unfairly criticized and singled out by #nascar veterans who might feel threatened by his success.
Here’s a clip (full podcast audio https://t.co/2A8Qg69Y1H): pic.twitter.com/I1DvII4x6N
— Nate Ryan (@nateryan) July 14, 2022

“Everybody thinks I hate Denny, I do not hate Denny. I think Denny’s one of the greatest race car drivers who ever sat in a race car, I really do. It reminds me of Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch what they had a magnet for a while. And no matter where one would go the other one was always there. But the thing is now you’re throwing in a new guy into the mix that you got to race with.”

Talking about Ross Chastain he added, “he’s got top 10s, he’s got top 5s, he’s got just as many wins as you got, he is your competitor. He is not some smoe that just showed up last year and got in a good car, he is competition. Live with it.”

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Denny Hamlin is done speaking with Ross Chastain after the latest wreck

Hamlin has stated that he has “reached peak” with Ross’s aggression on track. These two have had a feud in the past at the Gateway, where Ross had locked horns with Chase Elliott. And the tension between the two has only flared up after Sunday’s at Atlanta Motor Speedway race. Where Ross, once again, wrecked Denny, with just a few laps remaining till the end. Chase Elliott eventually won the race.

NASCAR fans took to Twitter to express their thoughts over the incident and Ross’ repeated wrecks.

Denny.
Ross.
An entanglement. pic.twitter.com/Ll2Wgd0RP1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 10, 2022

how many times has ross wrecked him this year
— bambino (@bambino2678) July 10, 2022

Ross has got to stop
— Zachary Austin (@zachary_austin) July 10, 2022

I’m trying really hard to like the kid. He’s an aggressive driver which is a plus. But you can’t wreck everybody just to win. This ain’t NASCAR Heat 4.
— Erin E. Fortin, PhD (@Erin_E_Fortin) July 10, 2022

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Ross Chastain for the Remainder of the Year. pic.twitter.com/sC8GiaqqZD
— 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨 (@racechaser51) July 13, 2022

Moreover, after that race in the Quaker State. Denny Hamlin spoke to the media, displaying his frustration towards Chastain. He said, “I think it’s just that everyone has their different tolerance levels certainly, but you guys know I’ve reached my peak.”

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Watch this Story: From Chase Elliott to Kevin Harvick Ross Chastain’s Greatest NASCAR Feuds

Let us know your thoughts about Ross Chastain in the comments below.

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Written by:

Srijan Mandal is a NASCAR author at EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing his Master’s in Journalism and has been writing for his own blog, 'Noobs Onboard', for a while now, covering NASCAR, F1, W Series, MotoGP, WRC and the WEC. Following motorsports for more than a decade now, he has become a devout supporter of McLaren Racing, Sir Lewis Hamilton, and Ayrton Senna.

Edited by:

Pritam Priyedarshi