via Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, looks on during the qualifying heats for the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 06, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
via Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, looks on during the qualifying heats for the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 06, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
One of the major talking points from the Cup Series race at Fontana was the contact between Hendrick teammates, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. The defending champion, who went on to take the checkered flag, unintentionally shoved his teammate into the wall towards the end of the race.
This led to a furious radio rant by the 2020 champion berating his teammate. However, what happened next raised a few eyebrows.
Elliott, a lap after his contact with Larson and the wall, spun out in the middle of the track for apparently no reason, bringing out a caution. As a result, many conspiracy theorists began to wonder whether he spun on purpose to hamper his teammate from getting the win.
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Did Chase Elliott spin out on purpose? Hendrick General Manager answers
Hendrick Motorsports’ General Manager, Jeff Andrews, was quizzed in the post-race conference whether Chase Elliott spun his No.9 Camaro on purpose, perhaps taking out any frustration on what happened between him and his teammate.
But Andrews not only dismissed such assumptions, but he also gave a valid explanation of what led him to spin.
“I don’t believe he was taking out any frustration,” Andrews said. “He came on there pretty quickly after the contact with the wall, and it was a very similar issue that had happened to them early in the day with the bent toe link, and that puts a bunch of toe out in that right rear tire and rear assembly and that makes it very difficult to drive.”
“They were trying to stay out and finish as well as they could and had the issue late in the race there, had to come in and put a toe link on it.”
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Hendrick Motorsports general manager Jeff Andrews explains how the team will handle the Larson-Elliott dynamic after Sunday and explains Elliott’s spin near the end of the race: pic.twitter.com/S6XQDhtjyY
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 28, 2022
As for how they will deal with the issue “as a company, “ Jeff Andrews suggested they’ll talk about it in their meetings in the coming days.
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“At the end of the day we’re going to — as we always do — we’ll do the right things for the company and get ready to go to Las Vegas (next weekend) in a good spot for really everybody.”
Also Read: Kyle Larson Reacts as His Spotter Also Takes the Blame for Chase Elliott Crash in Fontana
