Chase Elliott Opens Up About Forgiving Denny Hamlin After Long-Term Tensions

If you have been around stock car racing long enough, you know that Martinsville Speedway doesn’t just test a driver’s reflexes. It tests their memory. The half-mile paperclip has a funny way of keeping receipts, and for nearly a decade, a heavy tab has been hanging over the heads of Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin.

On a brisk Sunday afternoon in 2026, Elliott finally closed the ledger. Securing his 22nd career victory and Hendrick Motorsports’ first win of the season, Elliott didn’t just outrun Hamlin to the checkered flag. He outsmarted him, outlasted him, and then, in a move that probably stunned the grandstands more than the final restart, he forgave him.

To understand the weight of this victory, you have to rewind the tape to 2017. Picture a young, hungry Elliott, closing in on his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win. With three laps to go, the Dawsonville native was tasting victory. Then came Denny Hamlin’s bumper. Hamlin spun Elliott out into the wall, crushing his dreams of a maiden win and igniting a firestorm of boos that probably still echo in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The incident cemented a bitter rivalry. Hamlin later admitted he was overly aggressive trying to punch his ticket to the playoffs, but sorry doesn’t fix a wrecked race car. Fans of the No. 9 Chevrolet have held onto that grudge like a family heirloom. But drivers evolve. Boys become champions. And grudges, eventually, run out of gas.

1. How Elliott Flipped the Script in 2026

For the vast majority of the Cook Out 400, it looked like this was going to be the Denny Hamlin show. The veteran Joe Gibbs Racing driver came out swinging, leading a staggering 292 of the 400 laps and sweeping both of the opening stages. Hamlin’s Toyota looked practically untouchable. But stock car racing is a game of chess played at 100 miles per hour, and Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, had a brilliant counter-move up his sleeve. Sensing the need to shake up the running order, Gustafson made a massive gamble. He called Elliott down pit road for a pivotal early stop right before a crucial lap 311 caution. When the yellow flag flew and the rest of the field scrambled to pit, Elliott found himself inheriting the ideal track position.

2. The Final Laps and Hamlin’s Heartbreak

When the green flag waved again, Elliott seized absolute control of the race. For the final 69 circuits around the historic short track, he dictated the pace perfectly. Meanwhile, Hamlin’s dominant afternoon began to unravel. Struggling with a suspected loose wheel, the No. 11 car lost the bite it had earlier in the day. Hamlin could only watch through his windshield as the bumper of Elliott’s Chevrolet grew smaller and smaller. Elliott crossed the finish line with a 0.565-second margin of victory, leaving a frustrated Hamlin to swallow a bitter pill. You could almost hear the collective roar of Elliott’s massive fanbase drowning out the engines.

3. Forgiveness on the Short Track

The drama didn’t stop at the finish line. When the helmets came off, everyone waited for the sparks to fly. Instead, Elliott delivered a masterclass in maturity. “I have forgiven Denny since then,” Elliott told the media, putting a definitive cap on the 2017 saga. “He races me with respect nowadays.” It was a jarringly honest and human moment. In a sport built on painted bumpers and bruised egos, hearing NASCAR’s eight-time most popular driver publicly bury the hatchet offered a rare glimpse of genuine emotional closure. Hamlin, clearly stung by the near-miss but respectful of the outcome, offered a blunt assessment of his own afternoon. “These are just some of the races that get away from you in your career,” he noted. Elliott’s triumph is exactly the shot in the arm Hendrick Motorsports needed after a sluggish start to the 2026 campaign. It proves that the No. 9 team still possesses the strategic brilliance and behind-the-wheel talent to contend for a championship. As the NASCAR Cup Series packs up and heads to the concrete high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12, the narrative has fundamentally shifted. Elliott has his momentum back. Hamlin has a chip on his shoulder. And the fans? They have a rivalry that just added an incredible, complicated new chapter.

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