NASCAR: Will the Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin feud boil over into 2018?

By Asher Fair | Dec 30, 2017

AVONDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 12: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota, races Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 Hooters Chevrolet, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 12, 2017 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

Toward the end of the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, the feud between Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin made headlines. Will that feud continue into 2018?

With two laps to go in the opening race of the 2017 round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway, Chase Elliott looked to be on his way to his first career victory in the sport. However, Denny Hamlin had other plans.

Hamlin spun Elliott out, taking the lead in the process and knocking Elliott out of contention. Following the race, which was won by Kyle Busch, the fans booed Hamlin during his interview and cheered Elliott during his. Almost immediately, you could tell that revenge would be the story moving forward.

Nothing happened in the following race at Texas Motor Speedway between Elliott and Hamlin. However, at Phoenix International Raceway, Hamlin dominated the race and was in a prime position to advance to the Championship 4. But Chase Elliott had other plans.

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Elliott bumped Hamlin into the wall late in the race, which caused one of his tires to go down. Hamlin lost a few positions and ended up crashing into the wall a few laps later, ending his chances for a race victory and his first career championship.

While one might think that the feud would have ended at that point with each driver costing the other a spot in the Championship 4 and each driver ruining the chances of the other for a race win, that wasn’t necessarily the case given what Hamlin said in his post-race interview at Phoenix.

Here were Hamlin’s comments, according to Journal Sentinel.

"“Each person had their own opinion of how they do things, and it just proved to the people that thought I was a bad guy that he would do the exact same thing in the same circumstances, so, I mean, you know, it’s just part of racing. I got into him and he chose to retaliate, so I’m in the garage and that’s the way it is.”"

When nothing happened in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway between the two drivers, it was thought that this feud may be over after all despite Hamlin’s comments. However, Hamlin’s comments after the season had concluded led many to once again think otherwise.

Here is what he said, according to NASCAR.com.

"“The way we race each other has been set and will be set for a while.”"

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A lot of people thought the Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin would continue at Homestead-Miami given Hamlin’s post-Phoenix comments, but it didn’t. But after everyone thought the feud had ended, Hamlin made more comments about the feud after the season. Is the feud really behind us, or will it continue in the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season? The season is set to begin on Sunday, February 18th with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.