What if one of the NASCAR season’s top drives went unrecognized? Chase Elliott’s recovery from a terrible start at the 2025 Circuit of The Americas (COTA) race was hardly acknowledged by anybody except for Richard Petty. After being spun in Turn 1 and suffering serious damage, Elliott had to fight from the rear of the field.

However, the road course king scraped his way to an incredible fourth-place finish with talent, perseverance, and mid-race repairs. Richard Petty couldn’t help but think as he watched it happen: What if Elliott hadn’t been wrecked? Would he have prevailed?

Richard Petty’s former crew chief, Dale Inman, agreed, describing it as one of the season’s most underappreciated drives. Beyond the results sheet, however, the more important question still stands: Did spectators and commentators miss a road course masterstroke in real-time?

Richard Petty praised the road course king

Richard Petty talked about the incident on the Petty Family Racing podcast and said, “I guess the whole deal he must have driven the hardest all the way through because he started dead last way behind and still wound up what fourth.” Well, it should come as no surprise that Elliott managed to do this, as he is the king of road courses after all, amassing 7 road course victories, the most of any active driver. But why was he forced to start dead last?

Well, you can point your fingers at Ross Chastain. The Trackhouse Racing #1 took a forceful dive as he pushed into Turn 1 on the first Lap, forcing a three-wide and slamming into Eliott’s rear. With road courses demanding precision handling, a damaged suspension might have destroyed Elliott’s day. However, his Hendrick Motorsports team made a critical choice during the Stage 1 break; instead of taking a chance on long-term instability, they decided to reach underneath the vehicle and fix the toe link.

Crew chief Alan Gustafson later confirmed the extent of the damage and said, “We had to get under there and work on the toe link. He hit something back there on that spin. We got it fixed as best we could, but I think we lost some performance because of it.” It was a bold move. In the fast-paced world of NASCAR, any time spent on pit road is a gamble. But it allowed Elliott to keep fighting—a decision that proved crucial. .

“I don’t know if he got credit for how good he came through that crowd and how good he would have been if he’d been upfront to start with,” Richard Petty said. “I seen him on the left rear; they were working on something, but he got spun out so I don’t know if he hit something back there or missed his toe end up or something.” He noted that Elliott finished fourth despite starting from the rear following the early crash, an accomplishment that merited greater acknowledgment. Even worse, his chances were severely damaged because the impact had shattered his toe link, a crucial suspension component.

Dale Inman concurred, describing the experience as “a heck of a drive” and pointing out how uncommon it is to witness someone recover so well on a road course. Once repairs were made, Elliott set out on a methodical charge through the field, proving why he remains one of NASCAR’s most skilled road course racers. Despite driving a compromised car, he executed precise overtakes, making up positions without the benefit of track position or strategy-based shortcuts. One of the most notable aspects of his comeback was his ability to manage the car’s handling despite the alignment problems. However, he was not pleased in the slightest by Chastain’s actions.

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“We’re sending that 1 car”: Chase Elliott’s crew chief vows payback 

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) saw a multi-vehicle pileup when Ross Chastain’s contact with Chase Elliott sent the No. 9 car into a spin on Turn 1. Elliott was immediately at a disadvantage after taking damage that needed to be repaired carefully while he was already starting deep in the field. Many anticipated that Denny Hamlin, one of Chastain’s most outspoken detractors, would denounce the action, given his track record of aggressive racing. Rather, Hamlin adopted a surprising position. “I get it—Chastain has a reputation,” Hamlin admitted. “But I don’t think this one’s all on him. Elliott maybe could’ve given a little more room.”  

Fans were taken aback by Hamlin’s response. He noted that COTA’s Turn 1 is infamously tight, frequently resulting in chain-reaction incidents, rather than placing the entire burden on Chastain. Hamlin presented the collision as a racing event rather than a case of careless driving, which served to diffuse the already-existing enmity. But Chase Elliott didn’t adopt Hamlin’s methodical strategy.

Elliott asked crew chief Alan Gustafson over the radio if he was simply taken out or if he was at fault. Gustafson acted without hesitation. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Elliott. “It’s just stupidity. But you know, we’re gonna have to pay that back. When we get a chance to send him, we’re sending that 1 car.” Elliott was on board. “That’s fine. I’ll do what I need to do, but I just need to make sure I wasn’t in the wrong before I do it,” he said.

Chastain’s race didn’t get any simpler. He had a difficult time recovering from the incident, and his day was further ruined at the end of Stage 1 when he received a pit road penalty. Elliott managed to finish fourth by squeezing his way back through the field, but the frustration persisted. Although Chastain made way for Elliott later in the race in order to avoid being wrecked himself, he refrained from commenting after the race.

After being involved in a different collision, rookie Connor Zilisch, however, used a different tack and admitted his error outright on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, saying, “I f—– up. When you spoil someone else’s race, it’s difficult to enjoy a victory.” This came after Zilisch won the COTA race in the Xfinity Series after he was involved in an incident with his JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil that led to the latter blowing his tire.

Debates about Chastain’s driving style were rekindled by the COTA incident, but Hamlin’s surprising defense gave the discussion a fresh angle. Was this an unusual instance of objectivity or a change in the way Chastain is viewed? Do you think Chase Elliott will retaliate in Phoenix? Let us know in the comments!