Following a major crash in Stage 2 of Sunday’s race that wrecked Chase Elliott’s standing, he ended up finishing in 33rd place. Now, the #9 driver finds himself teetering on the edge in the Round of 8, anchored at the bottom of the bubble with a 53-point shortfall.
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One of his teammates, Alex Bowman has already been knocked out of contention after a disqualification at the Charlotte Roval, leaving Elliott among two teammates still in the fray. And that puts him in a tight spot, especially considering he may have to outperform either of his teammates or Christopher Bell, who has shown remarkable consistency this season.
Meanwhile, Joey Logano’s recent triumph in Las Vegas has clinched him a spot in the next round, ramping up the tension for everyone else with three more spots.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. commented on the awkwardness that arises when teammates have to compete against each other since they build their race cars under the same roof. He pointed out that despite seeing Elliott in a tight spot, his teammates can’t afford to lend him a hand without risking their shot at the Championship 4.
Junior elaborated, “I know they’ll be transparent they’ll be sharing information you know to a point but the William’s team and larsson’s team they got to protect themselves right? […] It’s awkward. It’s not enemies […] General conversation everything sort of widdles down. Everybody’s got their head down. Everybody’s working!”
He added, “The noise gets a little it gets a little quiet in the shop. It’s a completely different shop than five weeks into the season everybody’s backs slapping and hey man let’s get this thing going.”
However, Bowman can certainly support the #9 Chevy team on the track, helping to push their chances of advancing to the Championship 4 round.
Denny Hamlin shared his insights on Elliott’s current playoff predicament
During his Actions Detrimental podcast Hamlin remarked on the #9’s precarious spot in the standings, noting that the #9 driver is in the cellar, which is not a good place to be. He reflected on the Las Vegas crash that took everyone off guard, pointing out that Elliott was swiftly making his way to the front before the mishap occurred.
Hamlin said that he saw Elliott pleased with his car up until that crash. He had secured a good track position and despite a poor qualifying, he was closing the gap fast.
Discussing strategies that might boost Elliott’s chances of reaching the final race, the #11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver suggested, “So, he’s in a position where Homestead — he’s probably stronger at Martinsville than he is at Homestead. He’s going to try to win both, but I give his best shot to win at Martinsville.”
While Elliott hasn’t won a race at Homestead-Miami Speedway yet, he heads into the second race of the Round of 8 on the track with an average finish of 10.4.
