It looked like Watkins Glen all over again. As non-playoff racers glittered brightly at the end of the Cup race in Kansas, their playoff counterparts suffered issues. Chase Elliott ranked in the latter group at the Hollywood Casino 400, where his troubles started even before the race. But although he could clobber his rear-race misery, Elliott did not expect other issues to crop up from his Hendrick Motorsports team.

The No. 9 team built up momentum throughout the race, carving its way through the race field. So although Chase Elliott was grateful for reversing his apparent misfortune, he could not help but sigh about recurrent pit road issues.

Several problems plagued playoff drivers today. Chase Elliott’s teammate and point leader Kyle Larson was the first victim; he blew out his right tire on lap 19. But Elliott’s own issue matched another Kansas favorite’s. Denny Hamlin also complained at large about slow pit stops that stuttered his otherwise fast car. Hamlin’s 8th-place finish was right beside Elliott’s 9th. Considering the No. 9 car’s phenomenal advancement after he started 38th due to an engine issue, the race was fairly good for him.

However, Chase Elliott admitted to the nagging issues. Post-race, he candidly described his 2024 Hollywood Kasino 400 experience. “We just had an uphill battle and it seemed like all day. I really thought our car was pretty good.” If not for the No. team’s pit problems, then Elliott would have taken his ambition a notch further and possibly won the race.

Ultimately, the friction came within the team. “We were able to move forward a long way…it was because we had a bad pit…You know, ultimately puts you in a bad position to lose spots on pit road,” Elliott added.

The HMS driver faced external trouble in one instance: on lap 1, a multi-car tangle spun by Chris Buescher occurred. Elliott was near the accident and clipped the wall, incurring slight damage. So much for the ‘traditional track’ where he expected to gather points. But overall, Chase Elliott counted his blessings for having a fruitful day. “It seemed like we would gain a bunch of spots, and then lose a bunch of spots from the pit road thing…then try to haul the car back up to the top ten. It was nice to at least get that forward.”

Well, like Hamlin, Elliott also had to fend off issues within his team. This is not the first time that he has had to face setbacks within HMS.

Chase Elliott had a rival among his kin

The two gems of Rick Hendrick once clashed with each other, and Kansas Speedway was their arena. In the spring race of 2023, Chase Elliott had a slight beef with Kyle Larson. With 35 laps to go, both pitted along with Brad Keselowski. But on the restart, the latter made a three-wide move, and Larson ended up scraping Elliott’s car. Thinking the contact was intentional, Elliott banged doors with his teammate soon after. Although there was a possibility for fireworks, both toned down the tensions.

Kyle Larson was apologetic after the race: “Obviously, I made contact with him [Elliott], but I felt like if I didn’t, I was going to clobber the six right in the right front, and I thought the safest bet for all of us was for me to squeeze out a little bit. I understand why he’s mad or was in the moment. I hope when he sees the replay, he understands that I didn’t have any space or not much, just inches. Just a bummer, but I’m glad neither of us got torn up, and we could get a good finish.” Even Elliott denied that it was a retaliatory action: “That was no message… No, no, no [problem].”

Well, Chase Elliott and Larson both have a calm demeanor, and he followed the same today as well. His top-ten finish would be enough to propel him forward to the next race, which is going to be a tricky one at Talladega Superspeedway.