The first corner in the first lap of the Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas saw fireworks when Ross Chastain, aggressive as always, rammed into Elliott, sending him spinning. Fortunately, the Hendrick Motorsports driver remained calm and composed in the aftermath.
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In such situations, particularly when someone like Chastain is involved, not many drivers would be able to keep things under control. They would push for revenge and end up wrecking each other’s race. Team Elliott’s plan was the same at first. Elliott’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, expressed his frustration on the team radio, vowing to pay Chastain back.
“We’re gonna have to pay that s**t back because I’m over people like that constantly doing dumb s**t. When we get a chance to send him, we’re sending that 1 car,” Gustafson seethed.
However, all Elliott wanted was to make sure that it was not him who did something wrong that led to the incident.
“No, that’s totally fine. I’ll do what I need to do. But I just need to make sure I wasn’t in the wrong before I do it,” Elliott said.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver was not in the wrong, and Chastain knew it. Going further into the race, in the final stage, he slowed down on purpose to let Elliott pass him. That was his way of making amends, perhaps.
Chase Elliott’s team isn’t happy with Ross Chastain. Elliott doesn’t exactly sound thrilled but wanted to make sure he didn’t do anything wrong first.
“We’re gonna have to pay that shit back, because I’m over people like that constantly doing dumb shit. When we get a chance to… pic.twitter.com/02KLcK8EJU
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) March 2, 2025
Elliott went on to finish the race in fourth place. Gustafson acknowledged the submission, saying, “Smart move.”
Had it not been for the trouble caused by Chastain, Elliott might have secured his eighth road course victory. Chastain, meanwhile, finished in 12th place and refused to speak about the incident after the race.
What Elliott said about the first-lap incident
Following the race, Elliott spoke to PRN and stood by his stance that if it was his mistake, he would own it.
“Got run over in the first corner. I’m curious to see it, I still haven’t seen it, to know whether or not I did something wrong. Happy to own it, but it was the first corner of the first lap,” said the HMS driver.
After the incident, Elliott rebounded strongly over the next 94 laps to secure a decent finish. The No. 9 team struggled with a toe link issue throughout the afternoon. Elliott also raced outside the top 20 for most of the first two stages.
It was only in the third and final stage that he got into his groove. In the final 13 laps, he raced from 23rd to fourth to become one of the best-performing drivers on Sunday.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell won at COTA to become the first consecutive race winner in the 2025 Cup Series season. He’d also reached Victory Lane at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
