Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Associate Provides Unique Perspective on Chase Elliott’s” Made Us Look Bad” Statement Amid Uncanny Excitement About Shane Van Gisbergen’s NASCAR Success

NASCAR may very well be termed the ‘contact sport’ of the automotive world. Each race brings the jam-packed drama of spin-outs and crashes following contact between cars. Crossover maneuvers are especially tough to execute without drivers trading a bit of paint. Well, that perception was turned on its head last weekend when Shane Van Gisbergen charged from the back of the field toward Chicago’s Victory Lane.

Demanding praise from NASCAR’s veteran drivers, the Kiwi’s on-track finesse even led Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott to make a bold statement of Shane Van Gisbergen making NASCAR drivers look bad at their own playing field. Now Dale Earnhardt Jr has revealed a unique perspective on Chase Elliott’s statement.

“Doing it clean”: Dale Jr reveals his associate’s unique perspective

Following an 18th-position restart after NASCAR’s race-shortening announcement at Chicago, Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 driver Shane Van Gisbergen quickly made his way up the leaderboards. With five laps remaining, Van Gisbergen was tailing race leader, Kaulig Racing’s #31 driver, Justin Haley. The Kiwi overtook Haley on the inside line approaching Turn 2. Almost bumping into the #91 car, the Kaulig Racing #31 driver fought back with an overtake in Turn 3, once again taking back the lead. Turn 4 saw Shane Van Gisbergen pull off a crossover move, snatching the lead from Justin Haley for the final time before driving down victory lane. Navigating the Chicago street circuit with clinical perfection, Shane Van Gisbergen clinched the title win, followed by Justin Haley in 2nd, and Chase Elliott in 3rd.

Touching on the exciting final lap events in Chicago, Dale Jr on his podcast ‘The Dale Jr Download’ spoke to co-host Mike Davis. “Shane (Van Gisbergen) takes the lead from Justin (Haley) on that little series of corners that I was calling the race, so that was cool to get a text from him (Dale Jr associate Paul) about that”, said the JR Motorsports owner.

Mike Davis quickly added, “It was sick. Justin Haley made that crossover move, that was kind of sick to be honest with you. And the fact that they didn’t touch is amazing, they did all that clean.”

Providing his associate’s unique perspective on what Chase Elliott could have indicated in his ‘made us look bad’ statement, Dale Jr said, “That’s what Paul kept telling me, He’s like, ‘Watch him, he’s gonna drive through the field and he won’t touch anybody!’ And when the race is over, Paul goes, ‘Look, he passed ‘em all, ran through the field, and didn’t put a bumper on anybody’. So they pride themselves, like on not only kicking your a**, but doing it clean, and almost demoralizing you but without having to be physical in any way.”

These lines from Dale Jr’s associate sure do give an all-new meaning to Chase Elliott’s words post the conclusion of the Grant Park 220 Cup Series race.

WATCH THIS STORY | How Shane Van Gisbergen’s Chicago Victory Became An Embarrassing Nightmare For Cup Drivers?

What did Chase Elliott say regarding Shane Van Gisbergen?

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One of the few drivers to have pitted early before NASCAR’s announcement to shorten the race length by 25 laps, Chase Elliott fought hard to secure the win. Needing one win to make it into the playoffs, Elliott’s title hopes were crushed by Shane Van Gisbergen’s thunderous win. Although sad to have not been able to bag the win, the HMS #9 driver was full of praise for the Kiwi.

In a post-race interview, Chase Elliott commended Van Gisbergen’s racing prowess making a bold statement saying, “Huge congratulations to Shane. That was a clinic, he made us look really really bad! He’s going to go home and tell all of his friends how bad we are so I’m looking forward to getting to work. Hopefully we can figure out how to run with him at the next one he comes to.”

Shane Van Gisbergen had further expressed interest in a full-time NASCAR venture following his Chicago victory. Committed to the Supercars series for 2024, will the Kiwi hitch a full-time ride in NASCAR come 2025?

Read More: “How Bad of a Job I Feel Like I Did in the Past 48 Hours” – Heartbroken Chase Elliott’s Seemingly Losing Playoff Hope as Negativity Carries On