Denny Hamlin makes William Byron claim after facing NASCAR accusations

Denny Hamlin claimed he was catching William Byron before realizing he needed to pit for more fuel after a costly mistake.

Hamlin and Byron ran up front for the majority of the Coca-Cola 600 before Ross Chastain snatched a dramatic victory in the final few laps, after benefiting from a mix-up of his own. 

Hamlin finished down in 16th place, but was still crucial in the finish with numerous fans online accusing him of costing Byron as he was fighting to stay on the lead lap as Chastain pulled off the race-winning overtake. Byron instead took exception with Joey Logano's driving a few laps earlier.

• Ross Chastain admits mix-up helped him win NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600
• NASCAR results in full as William Byron denied in dramatic Coca-Cola 600 finish

Speaking after the race, Hamlin insisted he and Bryon were the “class of the field” as he broke down the mistake which ended his chances. And he claimed he was reeling in Byron before being told he could not reach the end of the race and cutting his losses by giving up the chase. 

Hamlin said: “We were really fast, obviously. Us and the 24 were the class of the field for most of the day, then the 1 came on really strong there at the end.

“Would’ve loved to have seen that battle through, but obviously once they told me I was short on fuel, at that point I kind of stopped chasing the 24 just because I’m not going to risk trying to get in the fence when I’m too short on fuel anwyay.

“The 24 was coming back to us but when they told me I was short on fuel, at that point I was just managing risk because I know I’ve got to come back in and pit anyway.” 

“I just wanted to see that last run kind of play out. It was still a great finish, great race anyway. It was fun battling up front. Nobody could lead because everybody would get too loose.

DON'T MISS: 

Two NASCAR champions crash out of Coca-Cola 600 in same massive wreck
Carl Edwards ‘embarrassed and admits ‘I was wrong’ on return to NASCAR
Dale Earnhardt Jr scrambles to apologize after botched call in first Amazon race

“My car was better in second, fast enough to lead, but once we led it was too loose, so it went back and forth. We put on a great show.” 

Asked what happened with the pit stop mishap, he explained: “No fuel came out of the can. So not sure. It was plugged in, I saw that it got plugged in, but there was no fuel in the can, or there was nothing going into the car.” 

Asked if he felt good given his performance, he added: “I feel good about our performance. I feel crappy about how we finish, and that’s been the story of the last couple.”