Chase Elliott, currently competing in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, didn’t have a day to remember at Gateway Motorsports Park in 2023. In fact, he didn’t compete at all.
Elliott made illegal contact with Denny Hamlin at the 2023 Coca-Cola 600, ruling him out of the second-ever Cup Series race at the Gateway as he served a suspension.
Now, the event is the second race in NASCAR’s playoff gauntlet in just its fourth-ever inclusion on the circuit. Elliott, already in an early hole from his 17th-place finish last weekend, will have one less race of experience than his fellow playoff drivers at the Illinois-based track.
An untimely caution early in the second stage derailed Elliott’s race last week in the 2025 Cook Out Southern 400 in Darlington. He bemoaned the incident when speaking to USA after the race.
“It was a really long night,” Elliott said. “Yeah, we had clawed our way up to the top 10 and tried to run really long on that one run. Everyone was being real aggressive with short-pitting so we tried to run long. And then yeah, as soon as we did that, the caution came out.”
“At the end, that was way harder than it needed to be. Man, what an incredible Toyota. It was fun to finally be behind the wheel of it. So cool to win two Southern 500s in a row,” Briscoe said.
“This is my favorite race of the year. Just because every time we come here, the place is sold out, the atmosphere here is like nowhere else.A great way to start our Playoffs. That was a lot of fun. I think this is definitely what we’re capable of doing. We haven’t been able to go out and dominate a race like that. The potential has been there from Day One.”