“The Game Has Changed” – Denny Hamlin Criticizes the New Normal After Ross Chastain Ploughed Through AJ Allmendinger to Win the NASCAR Race in Austin

Right before the very last corner of the very last lap of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit Of The Americas, Ross Chastain pushed the race leader A. J. Allmendinger a bit too much from the behind. This led to Allmendinger spinning out into the gravel while Chastain went on to take the checkered flag. This late race move was something that split everyone into two halves, and Denny Hamlin was on the half that was critical of the race winner.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver who himself had somewhat of an improved race compared to how the rest of his season went, tweeted regarding the ‘legitimacy’ of Chastain’s move.

“In 2017 it wasn’t ok. In todays world. “High stakes” “do whatever it takes” “playoffs on the line” blah blah, it’s all fair game. The game has changed and it’s just expected now,” Hamlin wrote.

“Everyone runs over everyone. Doesn’t matter if it’s for 1st or 10th Congrats to @JustinMarksTH & Ross.” 

Denny Hamlin improves in Austin, but only slightly

So far this season, Denny Hamlin has found himself on the wrong side of ‘drivers to talk about’ conversation. This is because, in the first six races of the season, the JGR driver hasn’t finished inside the top ten even once.

Although, more recently in Austin, Hamlin showed signs of improvement and more control over his driving and his car.

He took the Stage 2 win and finished eventually in 18th place, ending up with his highest points-scoring race of this season with 29 points and his first playoff point of the season.

Now, that hasn’t a world of difference in his playoff bid that is looking pretty unlikely at this moment. Denny Hamlin currently sits in 22nd place in the standings.

Regardless, he, his team, and his fans would hope that the three-time Daytona 500 winner, who has been a regular name in championship battles, starts to deliver and let his results be more vocal before it’s too late.

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