In a steamy and sticky race at Nashville Superspeedway, strange occurrences are bound to happen. They can be as strange as the finest drivers being thrown out of contention. Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott faced such a dilemma at the Ally 400 race. Although the No. 9 Chevrolet was running well at first, a technical issue came in the final stage. This potentially deprived Elliott of a ‘detrimental’ opportunity, and he was not happy.

Chase Elliott refused to be consoled

Carrying one win at the 1.33-mile concrete oval in Lebanon, Tennessee, Chase Elliott was confident about Nashville. But what motivated him more was his Bracket Challenge spot. Inspiring NASCAR’s in-season tournament, Denny Hamlin‘s Bracket Challenge, four finalists were announced a short while ago: Hamlin himself, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott. But the Nashville spin really hurt the No. 9 Hendrick driver’s chances to win.

It also robbed him of a chance to meet Denny on an ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast. After the first stage at the Ally 400, Elliott said his car felt better on this run. He ran 9th then and seemed strong enough to foray into the top five in no time. But a dismal fate struck him later in the race. On lap 218, Chase Elliott lost control of his ride, which got loose and spun. He managed to avoid hitting the wall but plowed through the grass, bringing out the caution.

The Most Popular Driver’s predicament shocked people, including the driver himself. His pit team offered consolatory words, but he would have none of that. Chase Elliott’s bracket challenge fortune particularly stung for him. Journalist Jordan Bianchi updated the tumultuous emotions that the No. 9 driver battled, as he wrote, “I just got loose,” Chase Elliott says. Team tells him it’s OK and they’ll get it back. Elliott responds “No, it’s not all right. Unacceptable.”

Clearly, Chase Elliott’s 2022 fortunes in a similarly rain-delayed race did not replicate in the 2024 Nashville run. Elliott undertook the same pit strategies back then and landed a glorious trophy.

Former luck did not hit Elliott this time

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Two years ago, Chase Elliott had a bright and sunny day in Nashville. Leading two times for 42 laps, Elliott cruised to the front row of the Tennessee race. Similar to the 2024 race, he was one of nine drivers who chose not to pit during a caution with nine laps remaining. Another similarity is the rain and lightning delay that stalled the drivers for over two hours. However, these factors played in Elliott’s favor in 2022, contrary to his 2024 fortunes.

A raging Toyota team posed a threat as four of its drivers led a whopping 253 laps. But the Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 team aimed their guns and prevailed in the end, as Elliott won the race. Crew chief Alan Gustafson had proudly declared, “We were ‘(The) Bad News Bears’ to start, and then at the end we got it right and were really good.” 

Elliott also admitted to a fear of Toyotas surrounding him, “I figured it was coming. I was hoping not.” He added, “Getting a win is always huge.” However, Chase Elliott could not harness that winning energy this year. Instead of yielding to a Toyota for the win, the race field instead had to bow to a Ford car.