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Chase Elliott reacts to Taylor Gray, Christian Eckes Martinsville incident: ‘I don’t love it’

JHby: Jonathan Howard11/02/24Jondean25
Chase Elliott
© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Last night in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race we saw a bit of drama. Chase Elliott was asked about it ahead of practice at Martinsville. The Cup Series driver saw the finish between Christian Eckes and Taylor Gray. He’s not a fan.

Chase Elliott and Christian Eckes are both NAPA drivers. So, you know that he is being honest when he throws a bit of criticism that way. Also, Elliott doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to not tell the truth. He isn’t going to trash someone else necessarily, but he will let his feelings be known.

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Gray passed Eckes clean on the final restart. He even had better tires. Eckes not only initiated contact with a bit of tire rubbing, he then did a bump and run on Gray. Now, it is the playoffs. It is for a win at Martinsville. But Eckes would have made the Championship 4 no matter if he won or not.

Here is what Chase Elliott had to say about it today:

“Yeah I was watching. Um, you know, that’s really tough,” Elliott said in his media availability. “We see this stuff time and time again at this place and it’s uh, I don’t love it but it has become very much normal. Not that I like that, I’m a big Christian Eckes fan, I think he does a great job. I’ve enjoyed watching him progress and really be a great competitor. And I can see his side of the fence and I can also see Taylor’s side of the fence and also Ben’s side, too.

“So, I get it, I totally understand. I try to look at things from all the different directions. So, I get it, I don’t love it. But if you’re not out there trying to, odds are if you’re not the one taking advantage of things, you’re probably going to get taken advantage of. And that’s the unfortunate truth of kind of what things have come to in this arena now.”

Chase Elliott has been around racing his entire life. He is much more like drivers of the last generation. It is clear that he learned to race from his father, Bill Elliott, that’s how he conducts himself on track. But he also knows the game has changed, even if he doesn’t like it.