Chase Elliott’s pit crew was ranked the second-best in the NASCAR Cup Series coming into Sunday’s race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That’s why an uncharacteristic loose tire on pit road during a service stop was definitely an aberration for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro, and the resulting stop-and-go penalty had a serious impact on his playoff chances.
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Elliott was well on course for a potential top-five finish, if not a win, possibly even beating Denny Hamlin. A strong start to the weekend for the Hendrick Motorsports driver, who qualified fourth, ended in a disappointing 18th-place finish.
Even worse, Elliott left Las Vegas sixth in the point standings, 23 points below the cutoff line to advance to the Championship Four, the title-deciding race three weeks from now in Phoenix.
The Mistake Was Not On Elliott, But Uncharacteristically On His Pit Crew
The blame didn’t belong to Elliott, it rested solely with his crew, which during a Stage 2 pit stop, mistakenly allowed the errant tire to wind up in an adjacent pit stall, which was against NASCAR’s rules. To serve the penalty, his car was assessed, Elliott was forced to circle the 1.5-mile and return to the pit-lane.
“I thought it was going pretty good for a little while at least,” Elliott said in a pit road interview. “(I) started the day strong. Thought we had our balance in a really good spot. I was kind of happy about the way it was driving, everything.
“Unfortunately we had a penalty on pit road. Just got back in traffic. I needed something pretty different balance-wise to be good back there. I probably missed a little bit on my first read. We only had a couple shots to try and help that.
“I got behind on adjustments for the track position. Couple bad decisions on that last restart. Unfortunately, yeah, got us a bad result.”
Next Up Is The Always Tricky Talladega – Home of the ‘Big One’
Elliott now must have a significant rebound next Sunday at Talladega, arguably the most wildcard track in the playoffs.
He could be leading the entire race, only for a multi-car wreck on the final lap to take him out, leaving him in a must-win situation at Martinsville in the final race of the Round of Eight if the 2020 Cup champion hopes to keep his shot at a second career Cup crown.
Elliott seems resigned to his fate at the 2.66-mile tri-oval, the largest oval on the Cup circuit. “It is what it is,” Elliott said. “Everybody’s got to go (to ‘Dega). So you better learn to like it real quick because it will be here soon.”
Elliott then concluded his interview with a very poignant closing: “Try again next week.”
