Denny Hamlin has admitted he was rooting for Carson Hocevar to wreck during the race at Phoenix.

As Hocevar and Ross Chastain traded blows during Sunday's Freeway Insurance 500, Hamlin was hoping their increasingly aggressive battle would end in a caution flag.was a lap down at Phoenix and needed a yellow flag to have a chance of getting back on the lead lap through the free pass.

Speaking on the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver admitted he was rooting for Hocevar to cause the kind of incident that has become a familiar feature of his NASCAR career.

"Yeah, I was right behind this, and man, I wish Carson would have ended up wiping them out," Hamlin said. "He did get run into." Hamlin believed a wreck was becoming increasingly likely as the on-track battle escalated.

Hamlin added: "One of the drivers ran into Carson. Ross did. Well, they were trying to wreck each other for... I'm sure there'll be some video come out here in the next day or so. They were taking major swipes at each other. I saw Carson take a major swipe at the No. 1 mid-corner and miss.

"As someone that was sitting in the lucky dog position, I was like, 'Please wreck. Come on, just... Carson, I'm rooting for you. Just do Carson things here.' And he was so close. D it."

Hamlin also weighed in on the incident that sparked the post-race confrontation between Hocevar and Zane Smith. During the cooldown lap, Smith rammed Hocevar's No. 77 Chevrolet before the pair exchanged heated words on pit road.

Hamlin suggested Chastain had forced Hocevar toward Turn 3 during their on-track battle, but questioned what happened next. He raised the possibility that Hocevar deliberately carried his speed into the corner despite other cars being in his path, although he acknowledged the driver may simply have been struggling to regain control.

Hocevar ultimately made contact with two drivers, whom Hamlin identified as Smith and Josh Berry. "What was interesting about when Ross sent him in there is Carson didn't hit the brakes," Hamlin said.

"He's like, you're going to run into me. I'm going to just... I'm just going to carry that speed all the way in. Whoever I run into, I run into. And he ended up getting two guys. I think it was Zane and Josh Berry. I mean, two guys that have no love for Carson whatsoever. Right? So anyway, nothing really happened. They just made contact."

Hamlin finished 28th, one lap down, capping a frustrating day that dealt another blow to his championship hopes. NASCAR heads to Talladega next for the YellaWood 500, where Hocevar will look to build on his earlier success at the track, having secured his first Cup Series victory there earlier this season. The series then moves to Martinsville before the championship picture becomes clearer ahead of the race at Homestead-Miami on November 8.