The Martinsville Speedway was a sad story for all playoff drivers except Ryan Blaney and William Byron. One such driver who missed a position at the Top 4 yet again was none other than Chase Elliott. While it seemed like he was poised for victory after leading over 100 laps, he could not outrun Ryan Blaney to the victory line. 

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion saw his season end at Martinsville despite an impressive race. Pit road difficulties, as well as minor bumps to the car, ultimately led to his downfall. Elliott still finished in P2 in what was a great run from him, but his points disadvantage was too significant to qualify for Phoenix without a win. Elliott spoke on the race issues that led to the collapse and had no one to blame but himself.

Blaney overtakes Elliott in the closing laps

At Martinsville, Elliott had the perfect strategy with his crew chief, Alan Gustafson. Elliott started off quite strong after qualifying in the front row. The #9 took stage 1 with ease, and it looked like it was Elliott’s day. However, he ended up taking a detour at Lap 186 and this is when he got a slow pit stop under caution. There were major issues with his right rear tire and the jack was put down before it was completely tightened. The jackman ended up going back to fix it, which ended up costing Elliot some pivotal points and positions in the race. This is exactly the reason why Alan Gustafson ended up creating a unique strategy that got Elliott back into the game. He got Elliott to the pit road on lap 351 expecting to catch a caution. 

With only 23 laps to go, Chase Elliott found himself in a position where he could easily book his spot at Phoenix. However, with only 14 laps to go, Ryan Blaney emerged from nowhere and did the inevitable. Blaney has been the king of Martinsville in recent times with an average career finish of 8.3! Dreams stood shattered as Blaney cruised past Elliott and took the checkered flag at Martinsville once again. Elliott finished second to Blaney, but that wasn’t enough, as nothing less than a win would have qualified Elliott.

Reacting to this narrow miss, Elliott said, “I don’t know; I haven’t seen the replay. Something happened on Pit Road where they had to jack the right side back up, go back over, and tighten the right rear tire. Maybe it was the right front; I don’t remember. But nonetheless, it didn’t work out. Really, that ended up not mattering by the end”. 

Although Chase Elliott ended up with only a second-place finish at Martinsville, he did not forget to thank Crew Chief Alan Gustafson for his contributions. Citing his unique strategy, Elliott said, “It was a great call. It got us right there in the mix and we had an opportunity. I just I just made a couple mistakes there past halfway, got some damage on our car. That hurt a little bit. Just little thing started stacking up”.

Elliott did manage to make stellar moves and shoot past various positions while on his way to the lead. However, it just seemed that luck did not favor him on Sunday. Speaking about how Blaney overtook him and marked his position, he said, “I was pushing really hard to get to the No. 5 [Larson],” he said. “I just felt like Ryan [Blaney] had been really good and I was scared to give him an opportunity to get to the No. 5 first. I really wanted to try to get the lead. And then you never know… maybe a caution can come out or something”. Although Elliot had managed just one victory in the Cup Series, he was a worthy contender given the points he had in his bag. 

Elliott explodes over radio at Martinsville 

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Elliott was at the 304th lap, running for the ninth position with Chase Briscoe when both cars approached Chris Buescher. He was in the inside lane and slow, which Briscoe and Elliot did not realize. By the time they did, it was quite late, and he made contact with the rear side of Buescher.

Upon asking his spotter, Trey Poole, what had happened, Elliott received a reply that it was “all good”. However, this further angered the driver, and he said, “No, not all good! What is he doing?” While Poole tried to redirect him to focus and make him calm, it seemed as though Elliott was just not in the mood to listen to anyone. He further shut him down by saying, “I need you to just be quiet for a few minutes”. The HMS #9 was having one of those races where, despite a strong car and some good driving, he still faced setbacks that ultimately kept him from the win. A grim summary of the entire playoffs for Elliott.

Trey Poole, who is also Elliott’s cousin, will be working for the very last time together as a pair on 10th November at Phoenix. Although Elliott is not a part of the championship quest, he has put together a respectable season and would look to end it on a high note with a strong showing at Phoenix Raceway.