The race and eventually the title ended up in Kyle Larson’s favor in Phoenix. But Larson’s race could’ve dramatically changed courtesy of his own teammate, Chase Elliott.
During Lap 26 of Stage 1, the two Hendrick cars were running in 1-2 positions with Elliott behind his teammate. Just then, the former defending champion tried to pass Larson but ended up almost wrecking him.
In a post-race press conference, the 2020 champion explained the ‘weird set of circumstances’ sitting alongside Martin Truex Jr.
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“I thought he was gonna come to the wall, so I was like, wow, trying to go to the bottom really fast and then he ended up not moving,” Elliott said.
Chase Elliott describes the early contact with Kyle Larson, and then he jokes with Martin Truex Jr.: pic.twitter.com/tehoS3E3Xt
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 8, 2021
Just as Elliott was explaining his side of the incident, Martin Truex Jr. said it looked ‘really good’ and joked, “Why didn’t you hit me like that?”
Elliott, in his reply, extended his invitation to Truex to recreate the moment in the coming season.
“If you want to do that to me somewhere next year, we’ll work on that.”
“I think it’ll look sexy,” Truex Jr. replied.
Chase Elliott feels all four drivers had their shot
The last race of the season was not a simple affair in which one driver dominated, even if the driver was Kyle Larson.
All four title contenders had their version of ‘extra motivation’ on top of lifting the trophy, pushing them to race hard for the win. This resulted in a race scattered with moments in which each of the four drivers had their ‘moment‘.
“We all kinda had our moments throughout the day,” Chase Elliott said.
Speaking of his car, Elliott explained how the No.9 Camaro was reliable and capable enough of winning the race. But it was the caution with 20 laps to go that made it difficult for the other three to pass Kyle Larson, who ‘jumped out’ after the restart.
The title-deciding pit stop.@KyleLarsonRacin's final pit stop was @TeamHendrick's fastest of the season as an organization. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/soNEwHUcw6
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 8, 2021
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Chase Elliott admitted that despite not making any ‘major mistakes’, it was the minor details that did the trick in Kyle Larson’s favor.
“…just the last few sequences of restarts and pit stops at the end.”
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Also Read: Hardcore Atlanta Braves Fan Chase Elliott Reacts as They Clinch World Series Championship
What did you make of the incident on the track and the banter at the media interaction?