Chase Elliott’s Comments Referenced as Spotter Demands NASCAR “Tell Us the Truth”

This year, there has been a shift in the way NASCAR drivers address the media and the fans when it comes to reacting, explaining, or revisiting events from the race. It all began after Denny Hamlin was penalized for ‘admitting to wrecking’ Ross Chastain on his podcast show. This led to an instant effect as Ryan Preece’s denial of intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson at Bristol proved. And recently, it was Chase Elliott at Charlotte.

Elliott had wrecked Denny Hamlin by right rear hooking him during the race. However, after the race, he took a very different stance about the “unfortunate circumstances” of the situation.

“The 11 (Hamlin) put me in the fence, and once you take the right sides off these things, it’s kind of over,” Elliott said. “Once you hit the wall in these things, you can’t drive them anymore.”

Of course, as we all know, he was handed a one-race suspension by NASCAR. But the fact that drivers are no longer being honest or owning up to their actions on the track, was something which spotter Brett Griffin recently expressed his concern about.

Spotter Brett Griffin urges NASCAR to let drivers be honest

In a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Griffin urged NASCAR to not punish drivers for being truthful in their interviews. The spotter referenced Hamlin’s Phoenix incident, Preece’s Bristol incident, and Elliott’s Charlotte incident to make his point.

“I don’t think Denny Hamlin should be fined. I don’t think Chase Elliott, he got out of the car and acted like, ‘Oh, once you hit the wall, you can’t drive these things,'” he said. “Man, when you right-rear somebody, you should literally be embarrassed.”

“After the fact, you should be like, ‘Man, I screwed up. I got mad and I did something really stupid and if NASCAR comes down on me, I get it. I know why because.’ I’m tired of being lied to, like it’s not Ryan Preece’s fault. He lied to us. He lies to the fans. He lied to everybody because in the past, if you do that, you get in trouble. So don’t tell the truth, get in trouble,” Griffin further elaborated.

“Let these m*****f*****s tell us the truth.”

Chase Elliott had claimed “not everybody is perfect” over Hamlin incident

Speaking after serving his one-race suspension, Chase Elliott opened up on what happened with Denny Hamlin at Charlotte. This time around, though, he admitted to his mistake and claimed, “life happens.”

“Not everybody is perfect and mistakes are going to be made. You’re going to have tough times. That’s just part of it, and I can’t change the things that have happened,” he added.

Chase Elliott on the difference of watching a race being suspended and watching while injured. Plus, how will he avoid a similar situation in the future and whether the suspension was appropriate: pic.twitter.com/KLeWu3EKHm

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 11, 2023

At this point, it’s becoming more and more difficult for fans to expect honesty from our favorite drivers when it comes to their opinions on the happenings on the racetrack. Let’s just hope that this rather complicated situation that sits between the lines is resolved soon because if the drivers won’t show their real personalities, then there will be no unique personalities in the sport.

And that could be potentially disastrous.