NASCAR insiders, Jeff Burton react to surprising Chase Elliott comments after unexpected Bristol race

Chase Elliott crashed out of this past Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Night Race after contact with John Hunter Nemechek sent him crashing into the outside wall. Elliott spoke with NBC Sports shortly after the incident, and he assumed that his playoff run was over.

In reality, Elliott had enough of a buffer that his playoff spot was in no real jeopardy. But Elliott didn’t seem to know that. Rick Ware Racing competition director Tommy Baldwin found that interesting.

“What was funny with Chase, he’s getting interviewed and he didn’t even know if he was in or out of the playoffs. He’s getting ready to go home,” Baldwin said on Tuesday’s Door Bumper Clear podcast. “He’s like, ‘Well, I’m done.’ I think it was Parker [Kligerman] who was interviewing him [and told him], ‘No, you’re not.’ He’s like, ‘I’m not?’ He was getting ready to leave. He was like, ‘I guess I’ll stay around and wait.'”

Chase Elliott makes it through Round of 16 amid trouble at Bristol

Jeff Burton, who was on the call for NBC Sports, said it showed the difference in how drivers choose to operate. Elliott was locked in on what was happening inside his race car, rather than what the points situation was.

“That was fascinating,” Burton said. “I looked at Steve [Letarte] and we can push a button and talk just amongst ourselves… and I said, ‘How the hell can he not know?’ That shocked me that he didn’t know, but it shows you the different approaches of drivers. He just comes in, gonna do his job and leave. He says I don’t need to know all that stuff, I’m just gonna go do the best I can and whatever happens, happens.

“… That’s his mentality and it’s worked really well, right? I think he trusts his team, like, y’all got all of that, I’m gonna go pay attention to this and drive the race car.”

The points have reset for the Round of 12. Elliott will start seventh in the playoff standings, +5 above the cutline.