Hamlin didn’t deny the contact that occurred going into the third turn after the race, with a chorus of fans cheering wildly as his interview played over the track’s public address system.

“He (Elliott) didn’t make the corner because I had his back end jacked up, that’s for sure,” Hamlin admitted. “I was extremely loose, and I got in there too hot, and I got in the back of him.”

“I was trying to get a race win,” he defended. “But everybody wrecked everybody there at the end. It was complete (expletive) chaos. I got in the back of him, and he spun out. Somebody got in the back of me and I wrecked too. It was just a mess at the end.”

So was the contact intentional?

“Everybody was doing the exact same thing,” Hamlin said. “I hate it for his team, and I understand they’ve had a win coming for a long time … but this is (about) a ticket to Homestead. I’m not sure that I’m not sitting here saying I wrecked him on purpose. I tried to move him out of the way, and he spun out.”

Hamlin later backpedaled his stance, posting a lengthy and contrite message on Twitter to his — and Elliott’s — legions of fans.

“I’ve raced nearly 10,000 races since I was seven. Today was the first time I’ve ever spun the leader,” Hamlin wrote. “I regret the outcome because it was not intentional the way it turned out, but I’m responsible for my own car and take (the) blame.”

“Nothing I say now can turn back the clock, but it’s a life lesson and I hope no kids out there who aspire to race think that’s the way you should do it. It’s becoming normal in our sport and I hate that I’m now in the discussion as a guilty party, but I’ll move on and hope that Chase, his team and fans will accept my apology.”

Despite being shoved up the track by eventual winner Busch on the final lap, Hamlin hung on for a seventh place finish, caught amid a bevy of spinning cars as he came across the finish line in the middle of a multi-car pileup on the frontstretch.

Meanwhile, Elliott’s disastrous 27th-place finish drops him to last in the playoff standings leaving Martinsville, 26 points adrift of fourth-place Kevin Harvick and likely putting him into a must-win situation at Texas and Phoenix.

But as bad as the scenario is for Elliott, his crew chief Alan Gustafson had equally ominous words for Hamlin.

“When we have his back tires jacked up … probably in (Turn) 3 at Texas, then (Hamlin) just needs to be good with that, too.”

About the Writer

Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.

Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.

The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.

Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com

Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77

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