“Prove Me Wrong” – Denny Hamlin Challenges Chase Elliott’s Rival After Emphatic Playoff Take

A big part of NASCAR’s fan appeal is the frequent social media banter between drivers. In this regard, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin is one of the most active entities in the garage, be it on Twitter or through his podcast, Actions Detrimental. The #11 driver does not shy away from speaking his mind, something that on many occasions does lead to good banter.

On this week’s episode, Denny Hamlin confidently claimed that he believed Chase Elliott will make the playoffs, largely due to the upcoming tracks being road course races. Now this has to come at the cost of Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell, who currently occupies the 16th and last spot in the standings.

It seems McDowell took note of what Hamlin said and responded in a cheeky way.

Michael McDowell accepts the challenge of Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin posted a clip from Actions Detrimental on Twitter where, among other things, he asserts confidently that Elliott is going to make the playoffs. Despite struggling for much of 2023, Hamlin feels that the HMS driver will cover the 40 points gap to Michael McDowell, who occupies the last playoff spot.

Hamlin’s co-host argued that McDowell is a good road course driver, something Hamlin counters by claiming, “Chase Elliott’s good on F****** road courses. What are you talking about?”

McDowell was listening, and took up Hamlin’s challenge, commenting under the post, “I’ll take that bet @dennyhamlin. Pull up total points scored on road courses with the NextGen car. I think we got a good shot at it.”

Hamlin took the response in good spirits, replying, “Prove me wrong!! LFG“, after which the Front Row Motorsports driver finished the thread, saying, “Planning on it!”

Is Michael McDowell better on road courses than Chase Elliott?

So is McDowell’s confidence justified? Turns out it is. Since the introduction of the Next Gen car, he leads the field in points scored on road courses with 285 points. Richmond winner Chris Buescher comes second with 279 points, with the 2022 Cup champion third with 278.

Chase Elliott comes in at sixth position, with 262 points.

The fight for the last playoff spots will indeed come down to the wire, and at this point, seems like an uphill battle for Chase Elliott, unless he grabs a win in the next four races.

The question is, will he be able to do so?