Overview
- On Lap 64 at Sonoma Raceway a restart into Turn 7 produced contact that spun Denny Hamlin and dropped him to a 26th-place finish.
- Frame-by-frame replay and expert review show Alex Bowman nudged Brad Keselowski, Keselowski shoved Carson Hocevar, and Hocevar then made contact with Hamlin in a clear chain reaction.
- Brad Keselowski defended himself on social media saying he was being pushed from behind, and Hamlin told podcasters he views responsibility as split roughly equally among the three cars.
- Despite the spin and damage that cost him a top finish, Hamlin moved into the NASCAR points lead by one point over Tyler Reddick after the race.
- Former crew chief Steve Letarte and others say the incident highlights how tightly packed road-course restarts and heavy braking zones make multi-car chain reactions likely and raise questions about restart procedures.