Chase Elliott reacts to contact with John Hunter Nemechek at Bristol, playoff spot at risk
Chase Elliott‘s Bristol Night Race run suddenly came to an end on Lap 311 when contact with John Hunter Nemechek sent him crashing into the outside wall. The incident occurred in Turns 3 and 4 when Elliott attempted to get back to the bottom.
There wasn’t enough room for Elliott, and his No. 9 Chevrolet ended up junked. He spoke with NBC Sports shortly after, saying he wasn’t sure if Nemechek got hit from behind from Denny Hamlin or if he “stacked the lane up that much.”
“It was a game of just how quick can you get to the bottom after a few laps to preserve your tires. I thought I was doing the smart thing,” Elliott said. “The Penske guys got position on me, so I was just trying to get back down in line. I got a huge shot from behind and I don’t know if he [Hunter Nemechek] had maybe gotten hit or I just stacked the lane up that much or what. Nonetheless, it happened, and it’s done. Looks like we’re in a bit of a pickle now.”
Chase Elliott can only watch from the infield
From Nemechek’s perspective, Hamlin got into him and created the contact with Elliott. All parties involved might disagree with how this happened, but it did, and Elliott is the loser here. Before the wreck, he was safely in a spot to advance to the Round of 12. Now, his spot is in jeopardy.
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Elliott is +23 above the cutline and cannot fall below unless someone currently in a non-advance spot wins the race. Alex Bowman is one of those drivers, and he’s the only one who has a shot of winning at Bristol.
Bowman, of course, is Elliott’s Hendrick Motorports teammate. He was in the same position Elliott is in now in the regular season finale at Daytona — waiting in the infield and hoping that his playoff spot didn’t get taken by another driver.
Bowman didn’t enjoy that feeling. Elliott won’t enjoy it, either.
“Cross our fingers and hope we get lucky,” Elliott said. “It sucks, I know that.”