Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain were the first ones to set the fireworks off on Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas. Chastain dive-bombed Elliott in the first corner of the first lap and spun him out. Elliott almost returned the favor in the third and final stage, but Chastain wisely slowed down and submitted himself. The biggest blunder of this sequence was made by Fox Sports.
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The broadcast channel failed to cover it when Elliott rose on Chastain in the third stage and when the latter slowed down on purpose and let his competitor pass. It was one of the defining moments of the day as Elliott raced forward to a fourth-place finish. Fans on social media were understandably frustrated at Fox Sports for missing the crucial event.
Furthermore, Elliott’s incredible performance in which he raced from 22nd to fourth wasn’t adequately covered either. One fan wrote on X, “The 9 goes from 22nd to fourth and Fox doesn’t show a single pass.” 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 goes from 5th to 30th and Fox gave the same amount of coverage to it. Pathetic.” The final laps of the day were focused more on the leaders and not the rest of the field.
A fan thanked veteran reporter Jeff Gluck for keeping people informed about the drama that was unfolding in the middle of the field using 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
They said, “Thanks for the info, wouldn’t have known with the lack of coverage on the rest of the field those last 10 laps.” Elliott was consistently racing outside the top 20 for the first two stages of the event. It was only in the third stage he managed to find his groove and stick to it. He 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 position from which they had to recover. 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 insensible 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.
