Denny Hamlin knows a fair share about being involved in a NASCAR rivalry. So, he's a perfect person to sound off on what appears to be the biggest beef in the garage area right now.
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Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain are the biggest rivals in NASCAR thus far in 2024, as the pair certainly have had their run-ins.
The issues between Blaney and Chastain stem back to the end of the 2023 season in the championship race in Phoenix. Chastain won the race and Blaney claimed the Cup title. However, Blaney wasn't thrilled by the way Chastain raced him.
Their beef returned this past weekend in Las Vegas as Blaney returned the favor in racing Chastain hard.
Their jabs at each other during the race certainly caught Hamlin's attention, as he talked about the ongoing dispute between Blaney and Chastain on "Actions Detrimental."
"I saw that, I don't know that we should really overreact," Hamlin said. "I think Blaney goes off the deep end most weeks. Like, this is just who he is. He just loses his brain over the radio. It's one thing to just maybe yell into your helmet, or chew the steering wheel when you're really upset, but he just clicks the button and just goes haywire. So, I wouldn't read up into it too much. But I guess he was talking s**t about Chastain or something."
Hamlin made a case that Blaney can overreact quite often, but then again, Hamlin also got a kick out of Chastain's comments following the race.
"We'll just keep an eye on this whole Blaney-Chastain thing," Hamlin said. "I don't know. I think Chastain made kind of a snark comment after the race saying, 'You know, I saw him air-blocking, and I'm proud of him,' so it's just, I don't know. It's interesting."
Naturally, the next race is at Phoenix where the rivalry began, so it will be interesting to see if more drama comes from this. One thing is for sure, Chastain is notorious for irritating his fellow competitors, Hamlin included.
