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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 19: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, waits in the garage area during practice for NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 19: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, waits in the garage area during practice for NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series winner at COTA didn’t have a great ending here in 2022. Chase Elliott had to stay happy with 4th position in the sixth round of the cup series here on Sunday. The loss of position is to be blamed on the pit crews, Elliott expressed.
The race at COTA has been one of the best shows the sport had to offer in recent times. With just five laps to go the race got on the nerves of the fans. For Elliott, the ending was somewhat lucky despite the delay at the pit road.
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Whilst on the pit, the pit crews delayed changing his right rear which made him lose position. As per Motorsport journalist Dustin Albino, Elliott seemed to have asked his team after the race, “How many more times this year are we going to get f****d on pit road on the last stop?”
Happy to be back at @COTA in the @llumarfilms Chevy. Let’s run it back 🤙🏼 pic.twitter.com/DiTXRkWWMZ
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) March 26, 2022
How did the COTA race turn out for Chase Elliott?
The Hendrick Motorsports driver was in 7th position with just two laps to go. As Kyle Busch got tapped by Chase, he made a great move to overtake Tyler Reddick to come into 5th position. With Chastain leading, it was almost guaranteed that Chase will go home in 5th place.
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AVONDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 07: #9: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro NAPA Auto Parts races #5: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro HendrickCars.com during the NASCAR Cup Series championship race on November 7, 2021 at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
However, the race was not over yet. Just before the chequered flag, there was a three-headed battle between Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, and A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger who overtook Chastain couldn’t hold his lead and got pushed off by Alex Bowman.
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.@chaseelliott shares some brief thoughts on his top five finish @NASCARatCOTA. #NASCAR | #EchoParkGP | @ThePodiumFinish pic.twitter.com/JOAmIDlNo5
— Rob Tiongson (@RobTiongson) March 27, 2022
The push threw AJ off the race and led him to finish in 33rd place. With a place to capture, Elliot moved into 4th place and took the chequered flag to take 37 points home. All in all, these points helped Elliott to continue as the leader of the championship.
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Despite the position at COTA, Elliott has 208 points in his bag followed by Ryan Blaney with 195 points. In 3rd place, we have Joey Logano with 185 points followed by Alex Bowman and COTA race winner Ross Chastain with 183 and 180 points respectively.
