Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain began the fireworks at the Circuit of the Americas in the opening lap of the race on Sunday. Chastain dive-bombed Elliott in the first corner and spun him out. Elliott almost returned the favor in the third and final stage, but Chastain wisely slowed down and submitted. Fox Sports, however, missed the action in their broadcast, leaving fans fuming at the blunder.
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The channel failed to cover the sequence of events when Elliott caught up with Chastain in the third stage. The Trackhouse racing driver, of course, let his competitor pass without incident. It turned out to be one of the defining moments of the day. Elliott got into his groove and went on to finish fourth in the race.
However, Elliott’s incredible performance racing from 22nd to fourth wasn’t adequately covered either. Fans were understandably frustrated at Fox Sports for missing the crucial part of the race as well as turning a blind eye to the Hendrick Motorsports driver.
“The 9 goes from 22nd to fourth and Fox doesn’t show a single pass,” a fan wrote on X. Another added, “And TV didn’t show it of course.”
Elliott’s wasn’t the only noteworthy performance that wasn’t shown on TV. A fan pointed out, “And AJ [Allmendinger] goes from 5th to 30th and Fox gave the same amount of coverage to it. Pathetic.” In the final laps of the race, the coverage was focused on the leaders and not the rest of the field, where significant action was taking place.
A fan thanked veteran reporter Jeff Gluck for keeping people informed about the drama that was unfolding in the middle of the field through his X handle.
If they’re gonna show the double box double box the cars on track not the wife’s reaction. Whoever heads their production is terrible
— Paige Burns (@PDubs11fan) March 3, 2025
“Thanks for the info, wouldn’t have known with the lack of coverage on the rest of the field those last 10 laps,” commented one fan.
Elliott was consistently racing outside the top 20 for the first two stages of the event. It was only in the third stage that he managed to find his groove and stick to it. The HMS driver was on fresh tires, and he used them to his advantage.
Haha Ross got wise for once. #NASCAR #Busch #ChaseElliot pic.twitter.com/FZZwWus8Bz
— Flint Chatooga (@FlintChatooga) March 3, 2025
Elliott was proud of his team for pulling off the recovery but was disappointed that they were put in a tough position in the first place. He could have earned his eighth road course win had it not been for the hurdle that Chastain put in front of him. Both Alan Gustafson and Chastain refused to comment on the incident.
This isn’t the first time Fox Sports has come under fire for its lopsided coverage of a NASCAR race. Hopefully, the company will put more emphasis on covering what’s going on in the middle of the field as well.
