Denny Hamlin reveals heated behind the scenes NASCAR confrontation at Atlanta

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin has revealed a heated confrontation took place behind the scenes during Saturday night's Cup Series race at Atlanta.

Hendrick Motorsports star Chase Elliott won the Quaker State 400 after what was a chaotic 260 laps of racing that included multiple red flags and wrecks.

NASCAR HEADLINES: Cup Series star confirms team exit as commissioner hits back at lawsuit

One of those wrecks caught up almost half of the entire field on lap 69, when Hamlin got loose in the middle of the pack and triggered a domino effect of collisions.

Unfortunately, Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe was one of the drivers caught up, with both the No. 11 and No. 19 cars having to go back to the garage for repairs.

NASCAR updated its damaged vehicle policy (DVP) for the 2025 season, adjusting the rule so that damaged cars that are either driven or towed back to the garage can continue in the race after repairs, provided their car is safe to do so. Previously, such cars would have been out of the race/

Hamlin made the most of this updated policy following the wreck, eventually returning to the track 109 laps down before retiring from the race. However, his teammate Briscoe did not get the opportunity to do so, with NASCAR officials halting the repairs to his car and declaring him out of the race.

Briscoe's crew chief, James Small, was not happy about this, Hamlin explained, revealing that Small and an official got 'nose to nose' when Briscoe's DNF was confirmed after his crew had been working on the car for an hour.

"I saw James Small and one of the head NASCAR officials nose to nose when they told him he was done,” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental.

READ MORE: NASCAR star Bubba Wallace issues message as Cup Series driver confirms team exit

Joe Gibbs Racing chief beefs NASCAR officials

Hamlin continued: “They had been working on that 19 car for an hour. And then he must have told James that they were done because something was bent that is not replaceable.

"When I pulled in, the NASCAR officials were kind of all over the car because what they're looking for is, is the chassis damaged to where, 'listen, we'll save you the time, don't start repairing because we're not going to let you back on the track' because of X, Y, or Z damage anyway.

"Maybe they missed it on the initial checkup of the 19, but they worked for a solid hour before they were told, 'No, you're done.'

"James Small was pissed. I mean pissed."

Hamlin was classified as 31st at Atlanta, whilst Briscoe finished 35th.

Whilst those results will not have much of an effect if any on their season as a whole, the Joe Gibbs Racing duo were eliminated in round one of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge as a result of their finishes, with Ty Dillon and Noah Gragson advancing from their matchups.

READ MORE: NASCAR star Kyle Busch set for racing series switch as official announcement made

Related

NASCAR

NASCAR confirm veteran driver OUT of Richmond race

• August 14, 2025 15:00

NASCAR Today

NASCAR Today: Michael Jordan wins BIG in court as team confirms driver release

• August 14, 2025 14:30