Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver Hamlin was battling Elliott's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during Stage 2 when he drifted up the track and Elliott, on his outside, made contact with the Turn 4 wall.
Elliott then came down the track hooked Hamlin head-on into the outside wall on the front stretch. Both cars suffered terminal damage, but the drivers were checked and released from the infield care centre.
Reflecting on the crash, a frustrated Hamlin was vocal in his discontent with 2020 Cup champion Elliott, and compared the incident to the crash between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson at Homestead last season which resulted in a one-race suspension for the former.
“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightaway,” said Hamlin, who took his first Cup win of the season at Kansas earlier this month.
“It’s a tantrum and he (Elliott) shouldn’t be racing next week. Right rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable, I don’t care.
“It is the same thing that Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson. Exact same.
“He shouldn’t be racing. It’s a tantrum.”
Hamlin later repeated himself, declaring: “He shouldn’t be racing. He shouldn’t be racing.”
Source: Autosport